Carlton's Lygon and Rathdowne streets would have road space taken from cars and handed to buses and cyclists under a transport proposal floated by Melbourne City Council.

Approximately one in seven Victorians now come into central Melbourne each day, and 275,800 of them – or 43 per cent – arrive by car, according to the council's own calculations.

Despite repeated city council strategies aimed at slashing car trips into central Melbourne, they increased by 13,000 each weekday in the eight years to 2016.

To reduce the number of cars coming into the city, tourist destination Lygon Street and neighbouring thoroughfare Rathdowne Street could have their kerbside parking converted to dedicated bicycle lanes with concrete barriers. Parking would only be available off peak, next to the barriers. During peak times, clearways would ensure there were two car lanes in each direction.

“In both cases travel lanes and/or parking bays could be replaced with a combination of dedicated cycling facilities, dedicated bus lanes and widened footpaths,” the Transport Strategy Refresh report, written by researchers the Institute for Sensible Transport, says.