About Stewart Street

Stewart Street is an important connection, for pedestrians walking from from bustling Nicholson Street, through to the beloved green haven of CERES Community Environment Park located by the Merri Creek.

This is why Stewart Street has been recognised in our Brunswick Structure Plan, which aims to create people-friendly streets to better connect you to your favourite places in Brunswick.

Our aim is to improve the pedestrian amenity, walkability and presentation of Stewart Street between Nicholson Street and CERES/Roberts Street. A central objective is to create a continuous accessible path into CERES, which is missing from Stewart Street at the moment.

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Construction Completed

The Stewart Street upgrade is now completed including new pedestrian crossings, wider footpaths, a new bus shelter, water sensitive landscaping and street trees — enhancing safety, accessibility, and improving the look and feel of the street.

Bus Stop

Council is working with the Department of Transport and Planning to relocate the bus service to the new stop.

Results

Before and After

Drag the sliders across the images to compare Stewart Street before the upgrades and after.

Before: A view from the curve of Stuart Street before the upgrades. the bitumen is cracked and there is a construction site to the right. After: A view from the bend in Stewart Street. The road at the corner has a raised section with a zebra crossing. The construction has made way for new housing.
Before: A view of Stewart Street looking towards the entrance of Ceres before the upgrades. After: A view of Stewart Street looking towards the entrance of Ceres after the upgrades. A raised bit of road has been added with a zebra crossing.
Before: A view down Stewart Street before the upgrades. On the left is a car park behind a chain link fence and on the right are some town houses. After: A view down Stewart Street after the upgrades. the footpath is wider and easier to see. There is a new path into the car park and new fence and shrubs along the street side of the carpark

Concept

The Final Concept

The feedback you provided us in 2020 and 2023 has shaped the final design which is shown on the interactive plan below. Click on plan to enlarge, and the hotspots for more information about the upgrades we're making

Final Plan

We consulted with the community in late 2020. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience of Stewart Street!

See a summary of the 1st round of consultation

You asked for more traffic calming measures
We’ve increased the extent of coloured road pavement to slow traffic turning into Stewart Street from Nicholson Street. The coloured paving will provide immediate cues to drivers to slow down when they enter Stewart Street. We’ve included a raised threshold and coloured paving wrapping around the Stewart / Roberts Street corner to slow traffic and provide a safer and more visible crossing into CERES. We’ve introduced a kerb outstand (part of the relocated bus stop) which will further slow traffic around the corner.
You asked for wider footpaths and new pedestrian crossings
There will be a new 2.4m wide footpath on the south side of Stewart Street. We will also widen the footpath between Ryan and Roberts Street to 2m, linked to CERES by two accessible, raised crossings. The widened footpath provides more space for wheelchairs and prams, and space for neighbours to pause and have a conversation. The experience of walking to CERES and nearby schools will be significantly improved, the raised threshold and new crossings will provide a sense of arrival and improved safety. The line-marking, coloured paving, and new pedestrian crossings will include signage to help make pedestrian crossings more visible to motorists. Based on community feedback we have also changed the location of the zebra crossing so that it leads directly into CERES.
You asked for better visibility for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers
We will remove all of the high shrubs which block sight-lines on the Stewart and Roberts Street corner, and replace the shrubs with lower plantings. Existing trees will be retained, but low branches that block sight-lines be removed. We will also remove seven car bays on Stewart Street, and two on Roberts Street. The removal of these car parks will improve visibility around the Stewart/ Roberts Street corner significantly.
You asked for improvements to cycling
A safer, more convenient cycle link will connect to CERES and the Merri Creek trail. Cars will have to give-way to cyclists, with on road cycle symbols indicating this to drivers.
You asked for improved tree planting and garden beds
The streetscape improvements will include 115m2 of new garden beds including a rain garden which will help clean stormwater before it enters the drainage system. 20 new trees will be planted along the street, which will contribute to a cooler, more beautiful street with enhanced biodiversity and habitat. The majority of new plants and trees will be native species.
You asked for less conflicts with buses
The public bus stop will be relocated from Roberts Street to Stewart Street. There are many benefits of moving the public bus stop to this location including:

  • There is space to install an accessible bus stop and shelter without impacting trees.
  • Congestion at the corner will be reduced as the public bus won’t need to wait behind charter buses servicing CERES.
  • Better visibility will allow bus drivers to easily be see patrons waiting at the bus stop, which improves safety and efficiency of the bus service.

Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts on the Draft Concept Plan. We had valuable feedback through two rounds of engagement including from people living on or near Stewart Street, those travelling to the area on foot or by bike, and staff and visitors of CERES.

This community and stakeholder input has been critical in shaping plans that will work for everyone.

The feedback has shaped the Final Concept Plan which you can explore below. We have also prepared a summary of your feedback.