The council’s 10-year vision for the city’s transport has identified pedestrian overcrowding at train stations, tram stops and intersections as a key concern. Loading "We know that a 10 per cent increase in pedestrian connectivity can deliver an extra $2.1 billion to Melbourne’s businesses," Cr Capp said. Some of the city’s off-street parking, which takes up a whopping 30 MCGs worth of space, will be converted for pedestrians, cyclists and traders. How artificial intelligence can be used to tweak traffic light cycles in the Hoddle Grid to give trams, cyclists and pedestrians priority will also be investigated by the council in partnership with VicRoads.

It can take up to 120 seconds for the lights to change in the Hoddle Grid, and if that wait time was reduced, delays for pedestrians could be cut by up to 50 per cent at the busy corner of Spencer and Collins streets. Within the next four years, the council will look to build more pedestrian crossings in the city and reduce crossing distances. The council is also hoping to make Melbourne Australia’s "premier bike city" by expanding the six kilometres of protected bike lanes to more than 50 kilometres by 2030. It will call for a review of the road rules to allow cyclists to turn left at a red light, and look to redesign intersections to include physically protected bike lanes through intersections. Cyclists would also get a head start at traffic lights.

It will also aim to build "world-class pedestrian precincts" at Flinders Street and Southern Cross stations and extend and de-clutter footpaths. The strategy also calls for 30km/h or lower speed limits to be trialled in the city over the next four years and wants a congestion charge to be examined. Spencer Street is the most used road by drivers heading for a destination beyond the CBD - also called "through-traffic" - followed by King Street. 'Through-traffic': Percentage of vehicles passing through the CBD

The council will also work with the state government to give trams and buses dedicated lanes and upgrade stops. It will also look to minimise incidents where vehicles block intersections, and accommodate more rail replacement buses when train lines are down. The council is hoping to turn Melbourne into Australia's premier cycling city. Credit:Wayne Taylor Sections of Melbourne’s "Little" streets (Little Collins, Little Bourke, Little Lonsdale, Little La Trobe) could also be converted to pedestrian priority "shared zones", meaning they could be closed to cars at different times of day and speed limits reduced. This policy, rolled out over the next decade, is designed to extend Melbourne’s laneway culture by providing better links between the city's smaller streets.

There will be even less on-street parking Credit:Picasa About 300 motorcycles currently crowding footpaths would also be allocated to designated parking bays by 2022. The council will also push for trams to reach Fishermans Bend by 2022, and the building of Melbourne Metro 2 – a new underground rail line linking Clifton Hill and Newport. Boosting electric bikes and cars through the city, and a new regulatory framework for dockless shared bikes will also be examined. All changes to the city’s roads would be designed to still give service delivery and vehicles access throughout the city.

The strategy is yet to be endorsed by the council and will go through six weeks of consultation before a final version is released. RACV's senior manager of transport and planning, Peter Kartsidimas, welcomed the move to increase pedestrian safety in the CBD, but said the removal of on-street parking required more consultation with the public and business owners. "In a congested city, we support the removal of on-street parking as it is the least economic use of road space and it can be better used for wider footpaths and bicycle lanes." Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Victoria Walks executive director Ben Rossiter congratulated the city, saying traffic light signal changes were "extremely important".