8 May 2014
The City of Melbourne draft Annual Plan and Budget for 2014-15 has just been released and Council is set tonight to exhibit it for public feedback prior to adoption of a final document at the end of June.
There are some great outcomes in the Annual Plan and Budget which implement Greens City of Melbourne Policies and deliver on Greens election promises. Highlights of Greens policy implementation include:
| City of Melbourne Annual Plan and Budget 2014-15 | Greens Policy |
| $3 million for new safe bicycle lanes, including $1.14m for separated lanes on Flemington Rd, $690k to upgrade Arden St cycling route and bridge near Upfield line, and $550k to upgrade shared path by Lorimer St (2013-14 total was $2.55m) | Transport Key Priorities 13 & 15 |
| Complete a masterplan for Elizabeth Street (working with Yarra Trams) with a view to closing the southern end to car traffic | Transport Key Priority 9 |
| $6.96 million to create new and better parks and open spaces in the City, including $2m for the Neill Street Reserve next to the Carlton public housing | Planning Goal 1 |
| $1.5 million to plant 3,000 new trees | Environmental Sustainability Goal 5 |
| Complete and open the Kathleen Syme Centre and Kensington Town Hall | Community and Services |
| $1 million for new flood mitigation works | Environmental Sustainability |
| $164,000 to install solar arrays at five Council owned sites | Environmental Sustainability Goal 1 |
| New program to promote disability access awareness among businesses | Community and Services Key Priority 4 |
| Large expansion of smoke free public spaces | Community Wellbeing and Safety Key Priority 12 |
| Overhauling the City of Melbourne website to increase transparency, accountability, accessibility and user-friendliness | Democracy Key Priority 5 |
The full draft Annual Plan and Budget is here (pdf 7MB), along with various summary literature.