Clean team brings a sparkle to iconic Lygon St precinct

A specialist clean team from the City of Melbourne has hit the ground in Lygon St to ensure the area remains sparkling and inviting for everyone.

The team will be on deck 12 hours a day, seven days a week to keep the streets clean and tidy in an initiative warmly welcomed by residents and traders.

Their duties will include picking up rubbish, pressure washing footpaths, wiping street furniture, deodorising, and reporting other issues.

“We’ve already seen a significant reduction in litter on the ground, resulting in less reports of overflowing litter bins – and that’s good news for residents, businesses and visitors,” the council’s city transport, infrastructure, and operations deputy portfolio lead Cr Davydd Griffiths said.

This hard-working team is keeping our iconic Melbourne streets clean, while creating jobs – and we’re proud to expand this program into key hot spots like North Melbourne and Carlton.

The team was launched on March 1 as part of the trial with crews tasked to hit the streets of the CBD, but such has been its success that the council has expanded the program to other parts of the municipality, which has seen 14 jobs created.

According to the council, there has been a 12 per cent decrease in public reporting and a 240 per cent improvement in response times.

Carlton Inc. executive officer Phillip Mansour said the initiative was a great idea and applauded the council for including Carlton as part of the program.

“The little extra support goes a long way,” he said, adding it was encouraging for traders to see the much-loved Lygon St precinct being kept appealing.

Luca Sbardella, director of the King and Godfree restaurant on Lygon St, said, “the City of Melbourne’s efforts to clean up Lyon St with their new cleaning crew have been highly commendable.”

“Their hard work and commitment to excellence have paid off, as the street now looks cleaner, brighter, and more inviting.”

The expansion of the program comes after Carlton Inc. met with Lord Mayor Sally Capp at the start of this year to discuss ways of beautifying the streetscape of Carlton. A range of proposals will be presented to the council later this year after Carlton Inc.’s newly appointed president Sergio Alderuccio vowed to return the suburb to its “former glory”.

Mr Mansour said the council was aware Lygon St needed an upgrade, “which needs to be done wisely and collaboratively with the traders and residents”.

“We need to plan that now; beautification comes with conversation and implementation, it’s important.”

Cr Capp said cleaning the city was one of the core responsibilities of local government.

“We know how much it means for residents, workers and visitors to feel proud and safe when they walk through our streets.” •