Four Melbourne CBD Laneways Are Going Green

As if Melbourne's laneways weren't ace enough already, they're going green — well, four of them are anyway. Meyers Place, Katherine Place, Guildford Lane and Coromandel Place will be transformed into little sustainable metropolitan Gardens of Eden with new designs released by the City of Melbourne as part of their Green Your Laneway initiative last week.

The City of Melbourne announced their plans to transform four laneway spots in the CBD back in October of last year, and opened up the nominations to Melburnians to help them choose which ones they would give the green treatment. With more than 200 laneways in the city centre, picking the spots was no easy feat. But after collating over 800 public nominations as well as advice from engineers, landscape architects and sustainability professionals, and taking environmental factors — such as the amount of sunlight the laneways receive and their exposure to wind — into account, the council has settled on the four laneways as the ones that would most benefit from the added greenery.

The draft designs show the laneways filled with planter boxes, vertical gardens, climbing plants and trees. Among the proposed additions, there are plans to give Katherine Place a mini tree-lined boulevard and an ivy-covered archway, and Guilford Lane (which is largely residential) could score a community garden. All up, the City of Melbourne is investing $1.3 million in the project.

"Melbourne's laneways are internationally renowned for their quirky and eclectic culture and feel," Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said. "We can add another layer to their attraction by enhancing the sustainability of our laneways and making them 'green' and therefore more efficient at cooling the city, intercepting and cleaning stormwater and improving air quality and ambience."

If you'd like to check out the designs in more detail, they'll be on display in Meyers Place from November 3-14. There's also some pretty detailed info on their website. Plus, to further warm you to the idea, Meyers Place will also host gardening workshops and live music on Saturday, November 12 from 2pm.

Green Your Laneway is on trial as one arm of the City's Love Your Laneway program. Meanwhile, the Urban Forest Strategy is striving to address climate change and reduce Melbourne's summer temperatures by four degrees Celsius. Green days ahead.

By Lauren Vadnjal and Jasmine Crittenden.