While most Australians would love their council to rid their local roads of potholes, one suburb in Melbourne is fighting for the opposite.
An online petition bearing 684 signatures at the time of writing is recruiting support to prevent road upgrades on The Boulevard in Ivanhoe East – a suburb approximately 10km north-east of Melbourne.
Banyule Council, the road authority that manages the suburb, said the planned project aims to fix a 2.8km stretch of road that connects Banksia Street in the north and Burke Road North in the south, aiming to “improve the surface quality and safety...for all users”.
Though the local road authority thinks the works will benefit road users in the long term, locals, according to the creator of the online petition, say “the current layout of The Boulevard puts pedestrians over cars” and shouldn't be changed.
“You will see families out walking, children walking with friends, children learning to ride bikes, elderly people strolling… this is precisely what urban planners have been trying and failing to achieve all over Melbourne," they said.
“We currently have a rare situation where this exists and it works beautifully… we believe it [The Boulevard] should not be replaced by a modern road which favours cars and destroys that character.”
Supporters of the online petition shared their opinions, with one user stating “Leave The Boulevard alone. It offers solitude away from the city... who wants trucks, cars motorbikes and cyclists ripping along the wild fruit tree-lined boulevard and disturbing the wildlife?”.
Another commenter remarked: “[Banyule] Council likes to say the nice words 'make the road safer for pedestrians' but they are making the road much more dangerous for pedestrians due to increased speed and traffic volume. Council is gaslighting”.
In response, Banyule Council said “We've heard some locals are concerned that fixing the road will increase traffic, rat-running and changes to the road's country feel”.
“The Council will continue working with the community to find a design solution that balances local views with our obligations under the Road Management Act.”
To better accommodate residential requests, the road authority proposed numerous changes such as road closures in specific sections to “discourage through traffic and rat-running”, introducing traffic-calming measures like speed humps and line markings, and even reduced speed limits.
Additionally, Banyule Council said it has "no plans" to add kerb and additional lighting or new footpaths to retain “the road's informal country feel”.
Banyule Council said the project is currently in its consultation phase, with planning, scheduling and cost dependent on community feedback.
According to the local council, on average, the road had a 32 per cent increase in traffic volume between 2022 and 2024.
Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
