The options - Nicer Wellington Street

What do the options actually involve?

The proposals cover two sections of Wellington Street. The Clifton Hill section (Alexandra Parade to Queens Parade) is also called Stage 4. The Collingwood section (Johnston Street to Alexandra Parade, council’s Stage 3) is separate. Each section has two options.

This page summarises the Clifton Hill section in detail, with a brief note on the Collingwood section.

Wellington Street in Clifton Hill looking towards Alexandra Parade, with the existing painted green bike lane in the foreground — Wellington Street, Clifton Hill. Photo: Liam O'Boyle.

Clifton Hill section: Alexandra Parade to Queens Parade

The Clifton Hill section has two sub-sections with different treatments under each option. The following figures apply to the section as a whole:

	Option 1: Shared Street	Option 2: Protected Lanes
Parking removed	13 bays, mostly adjacent to Queens Parade	66 bays throughout (including 2 accessible)
Bays remaining	83 of 96	30 of 96
Accessible bays	Both retained	Both removed
Trees	29 current, adds 11, total 40	29 current, adds 3, total 32

Parking figures cover Wellington Street only (source: YourSay Yarra).

Alexandra Parade to Hodgkinson Street (southern sub-section)

This stretch includes the Clifton Hill Primary School gate.

	Option 1: Shared Street	Option 2: Protected Lanes
Cycling infrastructure	Shared street (also called “Bicycle Street” in council’s design documents); people on bikes and in vehicles share the space	Physically separated kerb lanes
Speed limit	Reduced from 40 to 30 km/h	No change (stays at 40 km/h)
Non-local traffic	Partial traffic barriers	No change

The cross-section below shows the Option 1 changes; we don’t think option 2 is a good option, as it keeps the non-local traffic and higher speed limit, while removing more trees and parking.

Cross-section diagram comparing the existing Wellington Street layout between Alexandra Parade and Hodgkinson Street (car parking, separate bike lanes, 40 km/h) with the proposed Option 1 layout (shared zones, 30 km/h, trees retained and added) — Existing and proposed cross-sections for the southern sub-section (Alexandra Pde to Hodgkinson St), Option 1. Diagram: Nicer Clifton Hill team. Download PDF.

Hodgkinson Street to Queens Parade (northern sub-section)

Wellington Street in Clifton Hill looking south from the northern sub-section, showing painted lane markings but no physical protection for people on bikes — The northern sub-section of Wellington Street in Clifton Hill, looking south. This is where both options install physically separated lanes. Image: © Google Street View.

Cross-section diagram comparing the existing Wellington Street layout between Hodgkinson Street and Queens Parade (car parking both sides, painted bike lanes) with the proposed layout (kerb-separated lanes, parking on median side only, max loss of 7 bays plus 2 new loading bays) — Existing and proposed cross-sections for the northern sub-section (Hodgkinson St to Queens Pde). Both options apply the same treatment here. Diagram: Nicer Clifton Hill team. Download PDF.

Both options include physically separated, protected cycling lanes on this stretch. This is where most of the physical change occurs and where almost all of the parking reduction falls. Queens Parade has abundant on-street parking immediately around the corner, so the practical loss of convenient parking in this part of the section is minimal. Parking near the school itself, on the southern sub-section, is largely unchanged under the shared street option.

Regardless of which option proceeds, the Clifton Hill section includes:

Raised zebra crossing outside Clifton Hill Primary School
Pedestrian refuge islands
Speed humps throughout, although the shared street provides more
Hodgkinson Street roundabout: zebra crossings on Hodgkinson Street on either side of the roundabout
Separated bike lanes near the Queens Parade intersection
Asphalt surface maintenance and road condition upgrades

Option 1 also includes a continuous footpath treatment at the Hodgkinson Street roundabout (the paved area is raised to footpath level, so vehicles crossing it must slow significantly). Option 2 has the zebra crossings only.

Learn more

The PDF documents below contain detail that the main project page doesn’t surface prominently; many people miss them.

YourSay Yarra: Wellington Street North - council’s project page, with interactive highlights of each specific treatment and links to more resources
Concept design drawings (PDF) - detailed street-level plans showing traffic barriers, new trees, pinch points, and intersection treatments for all options; look for Option 1 (labelled “Bicycle Street” in council’s documents)
Traffic circulation plan (PDF) - shows how local access continues to work with the barriers in place

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Collingwood section: Johnston Street to Alexandra Parade

The Collingwood section (council’s Stage 3) is separate, with its own two options. Both options include a 30 km/h speed limit and traffic barriers that reduce non-local traffic.

Option 1 (Shared Street): removes 10 of 81 bays, retains all 19 existing trees and adds 15 new ones
Option 2 (Painted Bike Lanes): removes 12 of 81 bays, results in a net loss of 7 trees from the existing 19

The council has info on this section at YourSay Yarra, Wellington Street South (Collingwood).

Wellington Street’s classification

Wellington Street is a C1 Primary Route in Victoria’s Strategic Cycling Corridors network, the highest classification. C1 routes connect the central city with Metropolitan Activity Centres and National Employment and Innovation Centres across metropolitan Melbourne. Both the project and the options have been assessed against that designation.

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