Call for input from active transport users on next steps for a better market experience
In December 2025, PPBug did a walk and talk at South Melbourne Market with Executive Director, Sophie McCarthy, CoPP councillors Justin Halliday and (then) Mayor Alex Makin as well as a number of council officers.
We talked about ways that the market can be more bike friendly: easy and accessible for people taking their bike shopping, with more and smarter placed bike hoops.
For local residents wanting to reduce their short trips by car, cycling to the market is fun, and also the better choice for the planet. Who wants to get stuck in the slow crawl of cars on market days, when you can save time and enjoy the ride?
The Market is very keen to encourage local residents to choose this great local asset for their weekly fresh food shopping. Market produce can be a better cost-of-living choice for a healthy lifestyle as it is better quality and it usually lasts longer.
One hazard that cyclists and pedestrians alike encounter at the market - and in fact, all across Melbourne - is motor vehicles invading limited footpath space. Cars, especially large SUVs with wheels to the curb, are often illegally parked. Sometimes the massive front end can carelessly damage bikes tied to hoops next to the curb.
The easy answer is ‘wheel stops’: low concrete blocks that help drivers park legally and safely within a car park box.
South Melbourne Market and the City of Port Phillip in October 2026 installed wheel stops in the cark parking spaces around the market. It has already made a difference. On the York Street side, where the footpath is at its narrowest, space has opened up for better pedestrian flow and safer bike parking.
But our advocacy for a better cycling to the Market experience is not ‘stopping’ there.
City of Port Phillip, as owners of the Market, have announced community consultation on ‘Project Connect’. This is about council investing in South Melbourne Market, for better accessibility, infrastructure and public space improvements.
We encourage all local residents and visitors - especially people making the active transport choice - to go to the Have Your Say page for Project Connect and give your feedback and ideas on how to make our market a better place for everyone.
Feedback closes on Sunday 29 November 2026.
https://haveyoursay.portphillip.vic.gov.au/project-connect-south-melbourne-market