In line with City of Melbourne’s Community Engagement Policy, we run public consultations on projects that impact public spaces, or the wellbeing of residents, businesses and visitors. We recognise and value the vast knowledge and experiences within diverse communities and are committed to placing the community at the heart of what we do.

Community consultation on the transforming Franklin Street project is an opportunity for the community to have a say on the draft concept design for stage two of the project. We would like the community to share their feedback and let us know what they would like to see the project deliver.

We’re proposing to create a new link between the heart of the CBD and the Queen Victoria Market along Franklin Street - paving the way for the landmark Gurrowa Place development.

Along with a new Market Square and plans for a new multi-purpose civic building, the transformation of Franklin Street will continue City of Melbourne’s investment in the Queen Victoria Market precinct.

This project will provide more open space for the growing community and improve safety and accessibility for all road users.

A key part of this transformation is replacing the current roundabout with a signalised intersection. This change will create an east-west corridor, unlocking the Gurrowa Place development and Queen Victoria Market Precinct Renewal.

The removal of the Franklin Street roundabout follows community engagement in 2019 and the formal discontinuance of Franklin Street between Queen and William Street in 2020. To find out more, please visit City of Melbourne’s Council resolution page.

According to City of Melbourne’s Population and Jobs Forecasts report, Melbourne (CBD) will continue to be the most attractive location for residential and employment growth, adding 45,000 residents and 76,000 jobs by 2041.

Allocating sufficient resources and services to support our fast-growing city is essential. The draft concept design for the Franklin Street transformation will provide 1250m² of open space for residents, workers and visitors to enjoy, better connections for people moving between the CBD and Queen Victoria Market and improved safety for the community with new pedestrian crossings, lighting and reduced traffic flow.

Yes, community engagement has informed the planning, design and delivery of the Queen Victoria Market Precinct Renewal Master Plan. This includes engagement on amending our Planning Scheme to facilitate the renewal program and the QVM People’s Panel.

The removal of the Franklin Street roundabout follows community engagement in 2019 and the formal discontinuance of Franklin Street between Queen and William Street in 2020. To find out more, please visit City of Melbourne’s Council resolution page.

We engaged with the CBD community in 2021 and 2022 to develop Neighbourhood Priorities.

The community told us that they want more urban green spaces with diverse flora and fauna to spend time, and highlighted the need for safer bike lanes, improved public transport connections and enhanced pedestrian access - many of these features are included in the draft concept design.

To deliver the new public open space, wider footpaths and protected bike lanes, 46 parking bays between Queen and Swanston Street are being proposed to be removed, with an estimated 50 parking bays retained.

Exact figures and the type of parking will be confirmed in the detailed design and informed by City of Melbourne’s Parking and Kerbside Management Plan.

Right around the corner from Franklin Street is the new 500 space car park at the nearby Munro development, plus many more off-street options within the QVM precinct area. There are also over 1200 on-street parking bays within 250m of Franklin Street.

This concept design proposes to turn four lanes of traffic into two, maintaining access for motorists in both directions, enabling footpath widening, the installation of protected bike lanes and increased open space along the southern side of the street.

The traffic flow in Franklin Street has reduced significantly due to works on the Metro State Library Station towards Swanston Street. This change in traffic volume has given us the opportunity to convert two underutilised road lanes into open space, without any significant impact on traffic flow.

Once complete, the Franklin Street transformation is predicted to bring more people to Franklin Street and businesses should see an overall increase in foot traffic.

During the construction phase businesses will be impacted, but we will work with them closely to understand their trading requirements and try to minimise the impact as much as possible.

Early works will commence late 2023, and involve formally closing Franklin Street access from William Street.

Major works on the roundabout removal will commence early 2024.

Your feedback on the Franklin Street streetscape transformation will inform the concept design process, with construction planned for 2025.

The Franklin Street transformation will improve safety for pedestrians and people riding bikes. The draft concept design proposes to install safety features such as protected bike lanes, improved lighting, raised intersections and raised pedestrian crossings which will help to protect pedestrians and people riding bikes from traffic. To find out more about the specific design features, please view the draft concept design.

This project delivers on key outcomes of the Transport Strategy 2030 including Outcome 1 ‘safe streets for people’, Outcome 2 ‘safe streets for bike riding’ and Outcome 3 ‘transport interchanges as welcoming people-places'.

As outlined in City of Melbourne’s Open Space Strategy, public open space is the publicly owned land that is set aside primarily for recreation, nature conservation, passive outdoor enjoyment and public gatherings. This includes public parks, gardens, reserves, waterways, publicly owned forecourts and squares.

Public open spaces are important as they provide the community with dedicated spaces to socialise, relax, exercise and connect with nature.

Our Open Space Strategy identifies the need for more open spaces in the central city. Nearby Flagstaff Gardens is at capacity and with the area surrounding the market expected to have a further 20,000 people move to the area in the next 20 years, providing new open space within a safe walking distance for new residents and workers is critical.

We’re working with City of Melbourne’s Disability Advisory Council to ensure the design meets accessibility requirements.

The design considers sustainability and environmental opportunities that address climate change impacts. These include managing stormwater flood through drainage upgrades and water sensitive urban design solutions, increasing green open space, increasing the canopy cover along Franklin Street by approximately 40 per cent and allowing more people to use active transport through improved connections.

To deliver the new public open space, wider footpaths and protected bike lanes, some trees will be removed. However, the project will seek to retain as many trees as possible and a significant number will be planted with improved growing conditions. They will create increased canopy coverage, and respond to the Urban Forest Strategy by exploring opportunities for increased biodiversity. Additionally, the future 1250m² open space will enable a greater number of trees to be planted.

The design has been developed to reduce flooding, in particular at the intersection of Franklin and Elizabeth Street. The introduction of the linear park space provides more opportunity for permeable surfaces and water sensitive urban design solutions that will help manage storm water runoff in the area.

Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) is the design of buildings, subdivisions and works to minimise the impact of development on the surrounding environment and waterways. WSUD involves treating and reducing stormwater flows, increasing soil moisture, urban greening and providing an alternative water source.