Council considers major greening works on Errol St

The City of Melbourne is exploring the option of partially closing Errol St in North Melbourne to make way for more green space. 

The council currently has two designs on public exhibition on Participate Melbourne, that would see traffic lanes either removed or reduced around Errol St’s central median, just north of Queensberry St.

Option one would see a partial road closure, with the southbound lane of Errol St to be replaced by 770 square metres of green space, providing an additional 16 trees to the precinct. 

However, as a result of the works there would be a loss of eight car parking spaces and eastbound access to Purcell Street would move to a turning lane on Errol St.

Option two, the larger of the two designs, would require a full road closure between Queensberry and Purcell streets, which would allow an additional 1120 square metres of green space. 

Traffic conditions on Purcell, Glass and Bendigo streets will remain as existing, however, there would be a reduction of eight car parking spaces. 

Additionally, if one or the other of the new green space proposals is supported, existing on-street outdoor dining locations would be incorporated into the design. 

The City of Melbourne is aiming for the final design to be tabled by late 2025 after community consultation and the draft design phase are complete. 

The survey may be found on the Participate Melbourne website until January 27, and community members are invited to choose between the two proposed designs or for no change at all. 

The results of this round of community engagement will be presented to the Future Melbourne Committee alongside a draft concept plan for the council’s consideration.

Once this is done, the project could advance to construction, with the start date to be set according to council priorities and resource availability. •