A wander down St Kilda's desolate Fitzroy Street reveals a once-booming suburb that's in decline. But what will fix it?

One engineer with an intimate knowledge of the suburb, and the state government, reckons he has the answer: fixing the embarrassing black hole by the bay that is the St Kilda triangle site.

Engineer John Parkinson has a plan to fix the St Kilda Triangle Credit:Chris Hopkins

Rather than the sprawling "Chadstone-on-sea" development Port Phillip Council wanted in 2008 – later overturned and its developers paid out $5 million – John Parkinson wants something simpler: an enormous park.

A "green wedge by the bay" is how Mr Parkinson – a consultant who's worked on several major Victorian infrastructure projects – puts it.