Latest plans released for Parkville Station

The latest plans for Parkville Station and surrounds have been revealed, showing increased open space and better disabled access within the historically significant precinct.   

The Parkville community can see the latest draft Parkville Station Precinct Development Plan and provide their comments online until October 13 at engage.vic.gov.au.

Updates to the plan incorporate stakeholder feedback and include retaining 19 more trees than indicated in the station’s original Environmental Effects Statement as well as adding extra accessible parking spaces and separated bike lanes on Grattan St.  

Changes to bike parking locations and the layout of bike hoops are in line with the City of Melbourne’s University Square Masterplan. The entry to the Faculty of Medicine on Barry St has been redesigned with a spacious plaza entry complemented by tree planting and street furniture. 

The northbound tram platform on Royal Parade has been shifted to the south of the Grattan St intersection to Elizabeth St in response to feedback from Ambulance Victoria for enhanced emergency vehicle access.  

Parkville Station is located on the doorstep of Victoria’s world-renowned education, health and research precinct, providing rail access to the area for the first time and taking pressure off the busy tram network. 

Designs for the area surrounding the station will transform Grattan St into a “grand promenade” with a dense tree canopy, sitting among some of Victoria’s most prominent institutions.  

The main station entry, on the northern side of Grattan St outside the University of Melbourne, features a 50-metre-long glass and steel canopy to draw natural light into the station concourse. The entrance has been designed to sit within the tree canopy to blend in with the surrounding environment.  

The new station precinct will create 3500 square metres of new public space through the reconfiguration of road space, with priority for pedestrians and cyclists. 

It will include a pedestrian walkway under Royal Parade, to link the station to the Parkville hospital precinct. 

The Royal Parade underpass will be accessible and free for all pedestrians, allowing people to safely and easily walk between the station, the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Peter McCallum Cancer Centre and University of Melbourne without waiting for traffic signals. 

Once complete in 2025, the Metro Tunnel will create capacity for more than half a million extra passengers a week during peak times across Melbourne’s train network •