Streets Alive Yarra: ‘People love the wide bike lanes on Elizabeth Street – please don’t narrow them! These photos were taken this morning between 7:30 and 9:00 am’ 4 March 2025, Super Tuesday Bike Count

For over two decades Yarra has been one of Melbourne’s best areas to walk and ride.

In 2025 a newly elected conservative Yarra council is eyeing up removing infrastructure that makes it safe for everyone to get around like you, your family, friends, neighbours, colleagues, students, gig workers, basically anyone who needs safe options to ride.

So far Elizabeth Street protected lanes and Coppin Street pop up bike treatments are under threat. Charlotte Street pocket park in Richmond has been cancelled.

1. Yarra deserves better

Join our campaign to keep our streets safe and support your right to move safely.

  1. Yarra deserves better: read about Yarra Council 8 April 2025 meeting where after almost two and a half hours of public submissions, the Mayor introduced an amended motion on the Elizabeth Street that no one, other than his own circle, had seen beforehand.
  2. Now it gets ridiculous: governance on amended Elizabeth Street motion wasn’t followed correctly on Tuesday 8 April 2025, now council must organise a Extraordinary Council Meeting at 7.15pm 22 April 2025 immediately after voting on the 2025-26 budget.
  3. Send an email to the Yarra CEO, Minister for Local Government and/or Local Government Inspectorate: tell them councillor conduct at Yarra Council’s 8 April 2025 meeting was unacceptable, as is councillors failure to follow correct process. The more specific the better, and the more likely it will receive a response!
  4. Over 1100 people signed our petition ‘Don’t risk our safety in 2025 – tell Yarra Council not to remove safe cycling lanes’ read what people said from Richmond, Collingwood and Carlton, Abbotsford, Cremorne, Fitzroy + Fitzroy North, Melbourne CBD, Parkville, Brunswick + Brunswick East, Hawthorn, Kew and inner east suburbs.
  5. Read about Elizabeth Street Protected Bike Lanes: A history.
  6. Contact Yarra Councillors: for example, you can email, call them and request a meeting to say how important protected infrastructure is for you, how it improves living in Yarra, offer to take them for a local walk or ride around your neighbourhood.

Please let us know if you are planning any events or actions in support of Yarra’s safe streets, for example – check out Streets Alive Yarra’s fabulous photo op from the 2025 Super Tuesday Bike Count on Elizabeth Street!

2. Yarra Council meetings

Public pressure gets results: returning to Yarra Councils November 2024 ‘omnibus motion’ – Elizabeth and Coppin Street were originally planned to be discussed at February 2025 meeting – it now appears the due process on these lanes wasn’t followed correctly on Tuesday 8 April 2025 and now council has to organise a Extraordinary Council Meeting at 7.15pm 22 April 2025 (7.15pm) immediately after voting on the 2025-26 budget

3.  Read the background

With the council agenda you can’t be seriously expected to download a 1300+ page pdf to find those details so we have created a Elizabeth Street history page that collates all this information: Elizabeth Street Protected Bike Lanes: A history

You can head directly to the info on Item 7.1 Elizabeth Street here, and Item 7.2 Coppin Street here.

4.  Contact Yarra Councillors before Tuesday 8 April 2025

If you have a couple of minutes, contact Yarra councillors before Tuesday. You can email, call them or even request a meeting to say how important protected infrastructure is for you, how it improves living in Yarra, and offer to take them for a local walk or ride around your neighbourhood.

We have a template email you can send to all Yarra Councillors here. Mention that you prefer Option 1 for Elizabeth Street and Option 1 for Coppin Street and tell them how important safe cycling lanes are for you, family, friends & everyone.

Again thank you so much for adding your name to our petition, it is incredibly important for residents and the broader community to stand up for safe, wide bike lanes and a liveable, likeable and walkable Yarra for people of all ages and abilities.

In March 2025 AustRoads published new active transport guidance that compliments our Yarra for safe streets campaign as it includes key safety requirements for bike lane widths.

28 March 2025: Critical Mass ride through Yarra to Boroondara, check out the great response from bystanders along Elizabeth Street, Richmond!

January 31 2025: Critical Mass ride through Yarra in support of cycling infrastructure

Extract: Yarra Council meeting minutes 26 November 2024 – pages 24 and 25

Yarra Council Ordinary Meeting: 6.30pm, 11 March 2025, Richmond Town Hall.

Yarra Council Ordinary Meeting: 6.30pm, 11 February 2025, Richmond Town Hall.

Yarra Council Ordinary Meeting: 17 December 2024, Richmond Town Hall.

Yarra Council Ordinary Meeting: 26 November 2024: Agenda + Minutes

3. What else is under threat?

Given the recent events of November 2024 at Yarra Council, it would pay to be super cautious of any responses like ‘we’re not ripping up bike lanes‘ and/or ‘we like protected bike lanes but not in this street‘ as the truth probably lies in reading upcoming Yarra council agendas for the real intentions of this new councillor group.

The truth will be Elizabeth Street protected lanes, Coppin Street treatments, current bicycle infrastructure and active transport strategies existing beyond the term of this council, which include Yarra’s Transport Action Plan 2024-2034, New Deal for Schools, New Deal for Cycling, New Deal for Walking and other specified programs to meet the ambitious targets in Yarra’s Transport Strategy 2022-32. 

Critical Mass Yarra: State Library to Richmond Town Hall, Friday 31 January 2025

4. Want to know more?

Many thanks to Sam Wallman for adapting his Freedom Machine design for Critical Mass Yarra. Like it? Buy it!

5. Read more: useful articles + related media