Streetscape Strategy

Streetscapes can be fundamental in defining the functionality and aesthetic of a town. Cohesive streetscapes can enhance the walkability, safety, access and comfort for residents and visitors.

The Streetscape Strategy has been developed to enhance the visual, functional and environmental quality of streetscapes across Latrobe City’s main streets and Central Business Districts, with a focus on:

• Increasing tree canopy
• Beautification of streetscapes
• Enhancing pedestrian and cyclist mobility
• Rationalisation of infrastructure
• Providing a consistent suite of street amenities across the municipality
• Efficient ongoing maintenance requirements

A key opportunity of the Streetscape Strategy includes developing a consistent suite of street furniture, materials and paving types that can be used across towns in a way that balances individual town character with broader municipal cohesion. By doing so, Council can streamline maintenance activities, reduce long term costs and improve the overall quality and appearance of public spaces.

While the draft Plan seeks to minimise car parking losses, a small reduction will be necessary to accommodate increased urban tree canopy cover. The car park losses will be offset by the overall increase across the municipality delivered under the Regional Car Parks Fund.

The draft Plan also highlights an opportunity to enhance roundabouts across the municipality to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety and proposes a hierarchy for roundabout design to ensure a balanced approach between good urban design and manageable maintenance requirements.

Submissions close 5pm, Friday 31 October 2025

December Update:

Council understands there is some concern regarding the implications of the draft Strategy, specifically in relation to the potential loss of carparks in the Traralgon Central Business District (CBD).

The engagement was open for six weeks, after it was released at the September Council meeting. The draft Streetscape Strategy was shared with the community on Council's social media channels, via the Latrobe Valley Express, local media, Council's website, the Latrobe City Connect newsletter and postcards. Due to the high level of community interest, the engagement period was extended to include email submissions received up until 3 December 2025.

Thank you for those people who took the time to provide feedback on the draft Streetscape Strategy during this time. We appreciate the community’s input and the level of interest shown in this Strategy.

The draft Streetscape Strategy was developed to enhance the visual, functional and environmental quality of streetscapes across the municipality.

An initial assessment of each town’s main streets and CBD areas was undertaken to inform the draft Strategy.

The draft Streetscape Strategy identifies key long term cost saving opportunities and provides tailored recommendations to improve the overall quality and appearance of public spaces, focusing on areas such as increasing tree canopy, beautification of streetscapes, enhancing pedestrian and cyclist mobility, providing consistent street amenities across the municipality and efficient ongoing maintenance.

The draft Strategy will inform future funding applications, capital improvement projects and ongoing maintenance and renewal activities for Council.

The final Streetscape Strategy has not been endorsed yet, and all community feedback will be considered when the Streetscape Strategy is completed and presented to Council for endorsement.

Council Officers will now review all feedback received and identify key themes and areas for consideration before presenting to Council for further direction.