Louisa Street is a busy local road that provides access to customer car parking for visitors to the central Coburg shopping precinct. It is also an important walking link from Munro Street to the Coburg Library. Currently there are no footpaths along Louisa Street, which people have told us when we have carried out engagement locally, makes it feel unsafe and unpleasant for pedestrians, especially young children, parents with prams, and people using mobility aids.


In 2018, Council undertook a public survey to find out what improvements our local community would like to see on Louisa Street. Respondents told us that the street felt unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists and that the street looks unattractive. They said that Louisa Street needs more trees and greenery, and traffic safety improvements. A summary of the feedback outlining what we heard from that time is available as a PDF.


To address some of the safety issues raised by the community on Louisa Street, we are installing a ‘pop-up’ (temporary) footpath along both sides of Louisa Street, from Munro to Victoria Street, as a low-cost way to improve safety and local character whilst plans are progressed for a more permanent solution, which will take some time. The footpath is separated from vehicles by a row of planter boxes. Colourful artwork painted on the path and the planter boxes add a sense of fun to the new footpath and make it highly visible to drivers, which further improves pedestrian safety. Council collaborated with our internal experts on traffic safety, as well as local artists from nearby Schoolhouse Studios (a local not-for-profit creative space) and Coburg Commons Community Garden to create these pop up footpaths.


The project is described under Action 89 of Council Action Plan 2022-2023: Carry out safety and accessibility audits for Louisa Street and design tactical responses to improve the street for pedestrians.


The pop-up footpaths are a piece of a larger exploration of the future of the central Coburg area, which will be subject to a large-scale engagement program, called The Coburg Conversation, in the coming months.

Please see the frequently asked questions (FAQ) list below to find out more about the pop-up footpaths.


Next steps

The next steps for Louisa Street Improvements are currently being considered.

Click the follow+ button at the top of the page if you would like to be notified when the next stage begins.

Get involved

Join us for a guided night-time walking tour in Coburg and help us understand how public spaces in Coburg are used at night. Thu 12 October, 7.30-9pm