Yarra Council is trialling changes to some street spaces to offer more opportunity for physical distancing, active and sustainable transport, and neighbourly connections.
A range of new measures, which include trialling additional cycling routes, streets that are more pedestrian friendly, were decided on at a Council Meeting last night. Yarra has also been trialling pop-up gathering spaces.
“As our city moves towards a new normal post COVID-19, we have a unique opportunity to reconsider what normal should look like,” said Yarra Mayor, Cr Misha Coleman.
“One of the ways we can do this, while also aiding recovery, is by creating more safe routes to ride and walk,” Cr Coleman said.
“The intention would be to trial some of these measures and see how they might work in the longer term.”
These changes are an example of what local government can do to keep the community healthy in the short term by helping preventing the spread of COVID-19.
“Changes like these are necessary right now because we need space for physical distancing while still going about our lives. We need to be able to move around safely, whether it’s going to the shops, walking to school, exercising, heading to work, or socialising.” Cr Coleman said.
“But they also present an opportunity to ‘build back better’, and promote healthier, safer, livelier, and friendlier streets in the long term.”
The proposed actions come out of Yarra’s newly released Climate Emergency Plan, which commits to responding to the climate crisis while recovering from the pandemic.
Councillors decided on the specific actions at a Council Meeting Tuesday 23 June.
