Streets that make it easier to move around and experience life in Merri-bek

Our streets are more than places to move through. They’re where children travel to school, people get to work and the shops, neighbours meet, and our community spends time outdoors.

We’re working to create streets where people of all ages and abilities feel safe and comfortable getting around – whether your walking, riding, catching public transport, or driving – or simply spending time in your neighbourhood, meeting others, shopping, resting, or enjoying the places around you.

Making our streets safer, greener, and more welcoming creates more opportunities to walk, ride, connect with others and spend time outdoors. That means healthier communities, quieter local streets, more space for trees and nature, and less pollution from transport.

Our plan for moving around Merri-bek

Moving Around Merri-bek is our long-term transport strategy. It guides how we plan and improve our streets and transport networks around six values:

• Safe
• Accessible
• Sustainable
• Healthy
• Liveable
• Inclusive

Our Moving Around Merri-bek Action Plan 2025-2029 turns this vision into practical actions we’re delivering over the next four years – from safer streets and crossings to walking and riding improvements, better access to public transport, and changes to the way we plan and manage transport.

Streets for People

Our Streets for People Plan identifies a network of local streets where we want to make it safer, easier and more enjoyable for people to move around and spend time.

Every street is different, so improvements will respond to the needs of the local community and the role each street plays.

Depending on the location, this could include safer crossings, better places to walk and ride, slower vehicle speeds, more trees and greening, improved public transport stops, seating, or other streetscape improvements.

The plan helps us connect individual projects into a broader network, so that over time more people can make local trips safely and comfortably without needing to drive.

As individual Streets for People projects are developed, we’ll work with local communities to understand what matters to them, develop options, and evaluate how the street works after improvements are made.

Safer journeys to school

Every child should be able to walk or ride to school safely and comfortably.

Through our School Transport Precincts work, we’re looking beyond the school gate at the surrounding streets, crossings and connections that children and families use every day.

We work with schools and local communities to identify barriers to safe travel and opportunities to make walking and riding easier.

This complements programs such as Ride & Stride, which helps more Merri-bek families experience the benefits of active travel to school.

Making our roads safer

Everyone deserves to feel and be safe when travelling around Merri-bek.

We’re developing a Road Safety Plan to guide where and how we focus our road safety work.

This includes identifying locations where changes could make the greatest difference and considering measures such as safer speeds, safer crossings and intersections, traffic calming, and other street improvements.

Our approach recognises that preventing serious injuries requires safer streets and speeds, as well as designing our transport system around the fact that people can make mistakes.

Speaking up for better transport

Council can make many improvements to local streets, but some of the biggest changes our community needs depend on the Victorian and Australian governments.

That’s why we advocate for investment and policy changes that will give people more safe, accessible and sustainable ways to get around.

Our current transport advocacy priorities include:

• upgrading and duplicating the Upfield rail line
• more frequent and better connected bus services
• accessible tram stops, particularly along Sydney Road
• investment in safer roads and intersections
• filling important gaps in our walking and riding networks.

Better public transport and safer walking and riding connections give more people genuine choices about how they travel – helping reduce congestion and pollution while making it easier for everyone to participate in community life.

See what’s happening near you

From safer crossings and bike connections to Streets for People projects and improvements to public transport access, we’re delivering transport projects across Merri-bek.

Visit Conversations Merri-bek to see what we’re working on and find opportunities to have your say.