Why the city’s slowest tram route and most dangerous road for cyclists remains in gridlock
Standing on Chapel Street during rush hour is to observe a zero-sum game being played out in real time.
Motorists navigate the busy shopping and nightlife streets that cover Windsor, Prahran and South Yarra. Passengers on tram 78, Melbourne’s slowest and most difficult to access route, were trapped behind them.
Cyclists create a barrier between moving and parked vehicles; The risk of a car door opening in their path makes it Melbourne’s most dangerous street for cyclists.
Pedestrians pass each other on narrow paths, where outdoor dining creates more pinch points. Navigating in a wheelchair or stroller is even more difficult.
The problem was succinctly summed up in a study commissioned by Stonnington Council: “Chapel Street is currently trying to be all things to all people… Something has to give.”
But any attempt to improve the situation for one group means alienating the other.
This balancing act is something the municipality has been grappling with since 2022, when it launched the Chapel Street Transformation Project. Detailed studies have examined different options, including removing free on-street parking to make way for wider footpaths, cycle lanes and equal-access tram stops, but the council has yet to produce a definitive plan.
A spate of firebombings of hospitality venues have raised concerns about the strip, which was once the city’s premier shopping area but has recently been plagued by empty retail and crime.
In many ways, the question of Chapel Street’s future lies in how to allocate the 20 meters of space between facing Victorian and Edwardian shop fronts.
Andrew Bretherton lives just off Chapel Street, near its intersection with Dandenong Road. It should be easy for him to take the trolley from the historic Astor Theater and visit the shops, venues and essential services of Chapel Streets.
But as a wheelchair user, it’s not worth the effort.
Route 78 has no single-level access stops or low-floor trams; making it the least accessible route on the network.
“Whenever I have to go shopping or do anything, it’s easier for me to get a car because I know I can’t access anything on Chapel Street,” Bretherton says.
“Chapel Street is supposed to be one of the biggest shopping and tourist destinations, and the fact that there isn’t a single accessible tram along the entire street is ridiculous,” he says, adding that older people and parents with strollers face the same challenge.
Constantly lagging behind traffic, the 78 is Melbourne’s slowest route, with an average speed of 13.3km/h.
Bretherton says that even as he rolls his electric wheelchair up Chapel Street, most pavement crossings are “high enough to throw you out of your chair” and some footpaths are so uneven or littered with street furniture that he prefers traveling on the road.
Stonnington is calling for the Department for Transport to fund accessible stops and low-floor trams on the route, and also wants the line to be extended a further 700 meters westwards along Victoria Street to North Richmond station to improve public transport links to Chapel Street (the 78 is one of only two tram routes in the city that does not pass through the CBD).
Although a council survey found that 54 per cent of visitors to Chapel Street walk along it and are the biggest spenders, only 30 per cent of the street area is made up of footpaths, most of which are limited to street eateries, outdoor furniture and shop window stalls.
The study interviewed 600 people on Chapel Street and found that the most popular methods of getting to the strip after walking were public transport (24 per cent), driving (16 per cent) and cycling (2 per cent).
This competition for space also extends to ways in which it can quickly become dangerous.
Harry Townsend was lucky to escape injury on both occasions when he was hit by motorists who opened their car doors into his path while cycling on Chapel Street.
Despite these frightening events, the 22-year-old business student still regularly uses Chapel Street, the north-south corridor connecting the inner south-east to the CBD. Despite being classified as a “strategic cycle corridor” by the state government, the street has only a painted cycle lane.
“What makes it dangerous is the space between cars and trams – there is no room for error,” he says.
Between 2019 and 2023, Chapel Street was the scene of 181 crashes involving cyclists; that’s more than any other road in Victoria. RACV has called for this to be a top priority for improving cycling infrastructure, given the high number of accidents, large population and proximity to schools.
Townsend’s father, Matthew, is a planning lawyer and travel activist who spent years lobbying the council to make Chapel Street safer for cyclists.
He believes there is no room on Chapel Street for protected cycle lanes such as those being built in parts of the CBD. But he thinks on-street parking should be removed and traffic blocked to reduce the risk of “gating” and turn the strip into a quieter, communal area like the streets of many European cities.
“Chapel Street should be made a low-speed shared space where cyclists and pedestrians don’t feel like they’re taking over their lives by crossing the street,” says Matthew Townsend.
“We need to re-imagine the road reserve as one where pedestrians are given priority and other forms of transport, cycling, trams and ultimately motor vehicles, are made to feel like visitors in this area.”
As part of the trial, the speed limit on Chapel Street will be reduced to 30km/h later this year, which the council says will help improve safety.
But Matthew Townsend says the road is clogged by drivers using it as a thoroughfare to avoid Punt Road or Williams Road, slowing down trams and making it harder for drivers who actually want to visit the area. He suggests closing one end of the street, starting with a trial run on Sunday morning with street markets.
While acknowledging some traders’ concerns about the removal of free on-street parking, he points to council research showing there are 5,307 spaces available in council-run and private multi-storey car parks; This is more than enough for anyone driving to the area even if all 398 on-street parking were removed.
“By improving the speed and efficiency of trams along Chapel Street and making it more comfortable for people to walk and travel, traders will welcome the increase in visitors,” he says.
But many traders say street parking is vital.
Arthur Galan has run his eponymous men’s fashion boutique on Chapel Street for the last 28 years.
Galan said his part of the strip in South Yarra was experiencing a revival in retail, with New York luxury eyewear brand Moscot moving next door and several other recent openings.
“There are some good things happening. If they take away parking, they destroy it,” he says.
When Age On visits, the three bike racks outside Galan’s store are empty, while all of the street parking is occupied (two Porsches, a Lexus and a black Mercedes G-Class).
“Mum from Armadale, Richmond, Prahran or Toorak, they’re not going to hop on a bike and come here,” says Galan.
“The customer who shops here wants convenience. They want to be able to drive in, park, run, do what they need to do, and hit the road.”
Galan says it is often difficult to find a space in the nearby Colonnade Center multi-storey car park, especially since the Jam Factory’s car park is closed during a major redevelopment.
“If parking were to be eliminated, it would be difficult. I don’t think most of us would survive,” he says. “Look at what the area really is; don’t try to turn it into something it’s not.”
Stonnington Mayor Melina Sehr says the state government’s ambitious targets for housing and population growth in the area make improving transport along Chapel Street even more important, but she admits there are no easy answers.
“Chapel Street is a complex and dynamic street with competing interests,” says Sehr.
“Any changes to the road area will be investigated as part of the council’s Chapel Street improvement programme. However, there are no current plans to remove on-street parking.”
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Patrick Hatch is a transport correspondent for The Age and a former business correspondent.Connect with: X or email.
