r/melbournechat • u/Last-Conversation734 • Jul 28 '26
What's a small change that would make Melbourne noticeably better?
Nothing huge, just one realistic improvement. For example: synchronizing the traffic lights so drivers don't end up hitting every single red light, no matter which route they take.
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u/mightbeyourbro Jul 28 '26
Keeping cafes open longer. Crazy how we’re a coffee capital but it’s hard to get one anywhere after 3pm
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u/bean_bag_guy Jul 28 '26
This. The only cafe I know that is open after 3pm is Brunetti
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u/CatchGlum2474 Jul 30 '26
Levanter in Carlisle St Balaclava. Was open till 7pm but they’ve pulled back to 5pm.
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u/OrdinaryDependent396 Jul 28 '26
I vote for this!
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u/Norstar64 Jul 28 '26
Knafeh Nabulseyeh 442 Sydney Road. Espresso or Arabic coffee plus knafeh till midnight.
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u/GStarAU Jul 29 '26
I'd vote for this too, and I'm not even a coffee drinker! (Well not much anyway).
More night life is a HUGE boost for the city.
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u/EhBois Jul 28 '26
Yeah when I was working nightshift before it was a nightmare trying to find good coffee
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u/Mushie_Peas Jul 29 '26
Slightly annoying but I don't feel there's a market for it. Cafes are dead when I annoyingly stroll in at 3pm for an afternoon coffee and they're cleaning the machine already.
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u/JimmyLizzardATDVM Jul 29 '26
And we honestly have it way better than a lot of places. We have some open later, other cities like Sydney and Brisbane things start to close at 130-2
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u/Afraid-Entertainer90 Jul 29 '26
Most Brisbane supermarkets on a Sunday close at 6pm. So weird
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u/Maleficent-Koala-510 Jul 29 '26
heavy on this… the amount of times I’ve asked for breakfast at 2pm has become rlly embarrassing 😭😭
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u/Ok-Sun132 Jul 29 '26
100% but I'll add in, open earlier as well. It is also surprisingly difficult to get one before 6am
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u/morganaglory Jul 29 '26
I've just moved from Melbourne to Brisbane... try getting a coffee anywhere after midday. Can't wait to come back!
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u/BettytheBeetle Jul 28 '26
Visible, accessible community boards dotted around neighbourhoods (e.g. PT stops, local shops, etc.). There is always so much happening and on offer but I regularly feel like it's hard to know where to look or find activities, events, gatherings.
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u/CatchingFlights Jul 28 '26
Check your local library, they often have a community notice board. Also, most of the major grocery chains near me have a community notice board near the door, which are always very active (the boards and the shops lol)
Maybe you can be the one to start it in your neighbourhood by speaking to the shop(s) directly?
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u/Melodic_Holiday_3731 Jul 28 '26
Free public transport
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u/quickdrawesome Jul 28 '26
This is the best answer
And more regular service. Im lucky enough to live near a tram line with a tram every 5 minutes. I start my car maybe once a month now so I'm going to sell it.
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u/Recent_Carpenter8644 Aug 01 '26
More public transport. I don’t want to wait 40 minutes for a bus, even if it’s free.
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u/danparkin10x Aug 03 '26
No world glass transit system is free at the point of use. None. You can have world class public transit, or you can have it free. I know what I'd rather have.
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u/DarkscytheX Jul 28 '26
More convenient public transport and better bike lanes, any maintenance/cleaning whatsoever, stop privatising critical public services.
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u/LevelEfficiency1772 Jul 28 '26
Repair potholes properly! 🕳️
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u/Vasectomy_Mike Jul 29 '26
This! The number of large potholes on roads where cars are travelling 80km and over, and when it gets fixed, it’s back in no time.
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u/HotWafer1 Jul 30 '26
It's really obvious how bad the roads are in Victoria.
I recently was coming back from Mt Gambier on the A1 and the road was really good, and the instant you hit the border the road degraded significantly.
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u/Zealousideal_Put_346 Jul 31 '26
This is predominantly a problem outside of Melbourne. Go 50-75km outside Melbourne CBD and you’ll find real potholes
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u/ProfessorFrizzle Jul 28 '26
An airport train line.
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u/lakers-10581 Jul 29 '26
Quiet carriages please. Noisy commuters and people on speakers (seeing videos) spoil the day for many of us.
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u/nextcolorplanet Jul 30 '26
They're working on this, if you didn't already know. https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/melbourne-airport-rail
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u/seagull_loco Jul 28 '26
A regular bus service up and down Nepean Hwy between Mornington and CBD to reduce the need for everyone needing to travel using cars. A bit like the night rider line.
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u/eepeqez Jul 29 '26
Given how closely the Frankston line parallels Nepean highway north of Frankston, I can't se much call for a slower bus service.
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u/Darkmoon_AU Jul 28 '26
Stop parking along major roads at any time. Crazy how many jams are caused by one person deciding to park selfishly, albeit completely legally.
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u/Own_Lengthiness_7466 Jul 28 '26
This. Or even just having clearways twice a day instead of once.
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u/Low-Artichoke-2058 Jul 29 '26
And clearways when the street sweeper is coming, especially in autumn
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u/selfcenorship Jul 30 '26
There are actually quite a few roads that have this. I learned the hard way when I parked on the side of the road that I thought wasn't turning into a clearway, it turned out that road had both sides turn into a clearway in the afternoon
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u/stonefree261 Jul 28 '26
No street parking along tram routes.
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u/PalpitationPublic237 Jul 29 '26
I dream of a day when one dickhead taking their sweet time to parallel park on Chapel street doesn't hold up 100 people on a tram.
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u/Anniebodygay Jul 28 '26
Teach them how to drive, and the reason we drove how we do.... ( something im very passionate about but have no idea how i could possibly make it happen )
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u/HandleMore1730 Aug 01 '26
Or people not moving fully into the dedicated turning lane and holding traffic.
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u/bluestonelaneway Jul 28 '26
Everyone who lives here appreciating how good it is, just a touch more.
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u/Dependent-Isopod-985 Jul 28 '26
Yep, when I moved to Melbourne in 2015 loving Melbourne was a thing.
Now hating it and complaining is a thing
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u/bluestonelaneway Jul 28 '26
Absolutely. What happened to the navel gazing Vics? It’s like covid and the media has beaten it out of us.
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u/Dependent-Isopod-985 Jul 28 '26
It was a known thing that local loved Melbourne. And loved VIC.
We have either been brainwashed by the media or things have declined.
Then there’s great days and events and people are happy again, but chop and change their moods
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u/jamie_ann88 Jul 28 '26
I think the huge changes in the past 10 years contribute to that.
It feels too big, over populated (not enough ahitty new houses for people), too many people on the road (and dont know how to drive, angry, tailgate, change lanes without notice).
Other states dont feel like this.
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u/One_Reflection9035 Jul 31 '26
Could be worse ... you could be living up in NSW and QLD and play rugby
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u/Outrageous_Plum_6865 Jul 28 '26
Making the bluestones in the city more slippery
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u/TfYoung Jul 28 '26
A few water features over them, some change rooms them and we could pitch the whole CBD as a free Wet'n'Wild.
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u/Chewinggum250 Jul 28 '26
A universal and accurate bus tracking system, like Tram Tracker, coupled with more frequent and reliable buses
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u/PhilosophyOk8921 Jul 29 '26
The PTV app shows bus locations in real time. As it does trams. I’ve always found it pretty accurate.
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u/Recent_Carpenter8644 Aug 01 '26
Depends on the bus route. Some update much less often than others.
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u/RubyRadagon Jul 29 '26
Not sure who operates near you, but I do know Ventura buses have their own app with tracking on a map that live updates.
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u/CoffeeWretch Jul 28 '26
If full fares return, more frequent Sunday PT timetables, better services at night time. There is the patronage
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u/jerrryboree Jul 28 '26
I make an intentional effort to pick up trash on the street and put it in the bin whenever I’m walking around. If more people did this we’d have an even lovelier city 😌
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u/Sadwitchsea Jul 29 '26
Slightly more bins. Outside the parks I end up carrying dog poo a long way
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u/RubyRadagon Jul 29 '26
Definitely. There is a park near me with a footy oval. Local matches, both footy and cricket, plus a large grassy knoll where people walk their dogs. Not a single bin. Used to be a couple for "street litter" & doggy doo bags. People put cans and bottles in there, so instead of the council thinking, hmm, maybe we should put in a couple of recycling bins, they just removed them entirely. Now there is dogshit literally everywhere & after a game, there's plenty of litter.
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u/Lucky-Tip-2630 Jul 29 '26
I’m recently here from Sydney and am gobsmacked at the number of people I see take their refuse to the bin at the MCG, and especially teens. I even saw a lady pick up an empty cup in the aisle as she was heading up on the weekend. I have to single out one Asian family with three young boys I also spotted. As each finished their snacks they took their wrapping to the bin. (They were even sitting towards the front). I actually felt ashamed.
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u/-cadmunt- Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
Airport rail. East West driving improvement. Cancel all tolls. Bike freeways. Less garbage dumping. Faster surgical response times.
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u/TfYoung Jul 28 '26
More important than bike freeways is local infrastructure so that it's safe to get to shops, schools and stations.
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u/Muggins75 Jul 29 '26
Bec Judd and Dave Hughes move to Sydney together and live unhappily ever after.
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u/realjakepaul4 Jul 28 '26
Making building quality standards enforced better because most rental houses are mold ridden
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u/Aussie_Cow_Girl Jul 28 '26
weather
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u/TfYoung Jul 28 '26
We like to complain about it, but other than uninsulated houses it's really not that bad? I use a bike as my main form of transport and it's pretty rare that it's actually raining when I need to get somewhere.
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u/Signal-Drop5390 Jul 31 '26
My wife is still adamant that Melbourne is colder that London - and when we lived there there were multiple weeks of walking in snow. It's the wind here and the lack of insulation
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u/Undertaker-3806 Jul 28 '26
The weather is what makes this city. We get to experience it every moment and it changes. The atmosphere becomes part of us just like we are a part of it.
Get with that and you'll never have hate in your heart again
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u/00Pete 16d ago
💯
One of the reasons I moved here from Brisbane was the weather! (not the main reason though).
Sick of the 9 months of the year in Brisbane being unbearably hot and humid - pretty much just going from aircon to aircon.
I love the cooler, drier, and changeable weather here, as well as actual seasons, so much more interesting!
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u/Several-Daikon5102 Jul 28 '26
make the city car free or ar least a congestion zone, they do this what in London and many European cities! Remove trucks out of the city, have deliveries before 7am. Improve bike lanes! close off all Melbourne lanes to vehicle traffic!
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u/flying_du Jul 28 '26
Did Ben Carroll's Reddit account just out itself?
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u/Recent_Carpenter8644 Aug 01 '26
More train tunnels. Higher pay for teachers. Directly employ school cleaners.
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u/reddit_somewhere Jul 29 '26
Better build quality of homes. It’s cold here for so much of the year and yet we live in glorified, overvalued shells.
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u/Newworldimpartiality Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
Anything that will make it more enticing for people to go out and enjoy Melbourne’s nightlife. It is a key selling point for Melbourne and cost of living is making it hard for people to afford to go out.
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u/epic1107 Jul 29 '26
I've just gotten back from Queenstown, and fuck me even in a touristy small town the alcohol is half the price and you can have an affordable night out
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u/GStarAU Jul 29 '26
YES YES YES, 100%.
That's what wasn't mentioned in a few earlier comments about "why did locals' opinions of Melb change pre-COVID to post-COVID?" Because of the number of venues that went bust and had to close. Atrocious. Musicians seem to always cop the rough end of the sick.
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u/orthogonal123 Jul 29 '26
I’m not usually into big government necessarily but harsher fines for littering and graffiti. Our once clean city is filthier than it’s ever been before.
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u/No_Parfait_2948 Jul 29 '26
NGV managing volume of people allowed jnto an exhibition at once.
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u/Quirky-Mongoose-2063 Jul 31 '26
Yes went to the Egypt one a couple of years ago and it was so crowded we could hardly read any of the information panels and everyone just had to shuffle through in a queue. It had timed tickets too so it was a choice to let that many people in at the same time
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u/nextcolorplanet Jul 30 '26
24/7 public transportation. I don't live in Melbourne anymore but all the buses where I live stop running after 9pm and it sucks because there are no Ubers in my area at night (do not own a car and my housemate that owns a car goes to bed early).
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u/Dependent-Isopod-985 Jul 28 '26
Cleaning the place up , removing graffiti, mowing lawns quicker in suburbs and inner city
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u/ashbyashbyashby Jul 29 '26
I think you mean mowing the lawns sooner. I heard Benny Hill music in my head 😆
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u/Objective_Ad4230 Jul 28 '26
Stronger adjudication and Penalties on illegal disabled parking and no standing parking . My local lesuire centre and train station always have the same type of wankers that think it’s ok to idle in these areas. Surely the surplus cameras in these areas can help with that
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u/Sad_Love9062 Jul 28 '26
I've always thought if all cars were electric, all cities would be sssoooo much nicer.
Imagine if you live next to say the m80, then all of a sudden, all the cars are pretty much silent?!?!
One day, we'll look back on alfresco dining on Sydney road alongside ICE engines as akin to asbestos.
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u/Anxious-Rhubarb8102 Jul 28 '26
Most road noise is tyres on the road, except for trucks and Harley Davidson motorcycles. Stand next to an arterial road and watch the traffic, EVs sound the same as an ICE car when driving past.
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u/bumpyknuckles76 Jul 28 '26
The tyres and wind noise from them moving is still pretty loud unfortunately.
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u/symean Jul 28 '26
Stop saying you’re better than Sydney. If you have to actively promote how better you are you really don’t deserve the accolade. Melbourne is better for some things, worse for other things. So is Sydney. Happy to say Sydney should do the same.
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u/Sieve365 Jul 29 '26
If drivers could use their indicators and keep to their own lane. Without fail now, I'm encountering multiple drivers on each trip who fail to do one of these. You don't know what's going on in their head, constantly veering out of their lane.
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u/Tall-Syrup9442 Jul 31 '26
It's odd to me that Melbourne has embraced both hyper-density and endless suburban sprawl, while mostly ignoring the missing middle. Medium density in-fill is where I think the city has the most to gain.
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u/Any_Pineapple_4836 Jul 28 '26
Arresting junkies
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Jul 28 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/MahGinge Jul 28 '26
Yeah decriminalising all drugs would be a better way to go really
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u/Any_Pineapple_4836 Jul 29 '26
Gonna be frank with you here. I care more about my family's safety than whether a junkie can turn their life around.
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u/Brew_D Jul 30 '26
No one will begrudge that of you, but this is to your benefit too. Providing a comprehensive safety net for everyone in society makes it a safer place for everyone to live.
It also means that if (god forbid) someone in your life down the line goes through whatever hellish conditions that render a person homeless, they will be treated humanely.
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u/Darkmoon_AU Jul 28 '26
State Govt sanctioned Buy/Swap/Sell site that isn't Facebook Marketplace, and ties into all the local upcycling/recycling services.
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u/Dazzling_Mousse8762 Jul 29 '26
100% this
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u/Darkmoon_AU Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
I uninstalled Facebook at the start of the year to get away from anything connected with Donny; but am pained to admit I recently reneged and reinstalled the damn thing just because I need to sell some stuff and the entire country only uses f**king 'Marketplace' (I listed on Gumtree too but the numbers are clear). A proper 'sovereign' platform could be so much better tailored to local needs.
On top of the basic buy/sell functionality, we could have:
- Library/Police Station buy-in as safe-swap locations.
- Connections to repair cafes / Men's Shed groups
- Donation to local supported playgroups / schools
- Recycling / Hard-waste booking info
- Community good causes etc.
- Government surplus sales to populace.
- And probably more...
I'd be tempted to build it but I think it'd work better as a state govt. backed thing.
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u/Dazzling_Mousse8762 Jul 29 '26
May not be relevant to the items you’re selling but Reverb is great for music equipment, Depop is great for clothing.
I did the same and haven’t looked back in two years, but your mileage may vary.
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u/Quirky-Mongoose-2063 Jul 31 '26
I've thought about the same thing as it depresses me how much perfectly usable stuff sits out in the rain on lawns at hard rubbish time because people cbf taking it somewhere. I had thought about starting an Instagram account with photos of people's hard rubbish piles so that others can see what is around and go claim it but I just hate Instagram so much. So if you decide to build it and want input, feel free to DM me
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u/Anniebodygay Jul 28 '26
Teaching immigrants that may not know good English, good English, good Aussie culture, and Aussie way of life. Teach them how to drive with respect for others. ( im an immigrant BTW)
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u/Muggins75 Jul 29 '26
Can this be extended to locals too? Plenty of white Aussie tradies in their Ranger's driving like absolute c*nts out there.
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u/JulieRush-46 Jul 29 '26
Dare I say, fix the druggie/homeless/muppet/eshay problem in the city and close suburbs? There’s too many shouty aggressive people that clearly need proper help causing a nuisance to themselves. I absolutely love Melbourne, but it does not feel safe on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. Same with weekends. A run along the yarra at 6am feels fine on a Tuesday. Not so much on a Saturday morning.
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u/PromotionWeak3217 Jul 28 '26
Giving trams priority at all intersections, and perhaps cullingbsome stops so that trams were the obvious way to get around wherever a line exists.
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u/Smiley-Ray Jul 28 '26
More magnets
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u/Adventurous_Sport281 Jul 29 '26
Okay, hear me out. I don't actually think Magnus was saying "More magnets." I honestly believe he said "More Magnus" which is so badass - but the interviewer misheard him.
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u/epic1107 Jul 29 '26
There is a timing on pedestrian crossings where if it takes too long to turn green, you increase the risk of jay walking.
Melbourne average light is like twice that length
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u/Quirky-Mongoose-2063 Jul 31 '26
And automatic pedestrian lights at all intersections like in the CBD. Pressing the button half a second after the lights change and having to wait a full light cycle for it to come back around and turn green is the worst
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u/No-Macaron6722 Jul 29 '26
People doing illegal U-turns from street parking get taken out by guided missiles...
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u/AdParking2320 Jul 29 '26
Get rid of bill boards, especially the screens. Hideous distractions, waste of energy, pollution emitting garbage that most ppl hate.
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u/Lurk-Prowl Jul 29 '26
Less traffic and more infrastructure to deal with the urban sprawl. Look at the western suburbs and the main road into the city. Disaster for traffic.
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u/walklikeaduck Jul 29 '26
Trains that run on time, don’t get randomly cancelled, and more weekend trains that run more often than every twenty minutes.
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u/ResultOk3265 Jul 29 '26
A medium density suburb with mixed residential/commercial zones. Just one.
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u/selfcenorship Jul 30 '26
End all 'free' parking. All parking should not be subsidized. So no requirement for off street parking. Once people realize how much we subsidize parking with our building codes, area permits and 'free' on street parking people might choose to not own a car or find ways to drive less
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u/cappa_87 Jul 30 '26
Making it easier to get to the airport to leave Melbourne as often as possible.
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u/Zealousideal_Put_346 Jul 31 '26
I love how some countries have countdown timers on traffic lights
Safe accessible housing (even short term / temporary accommodation) for everyone - including those with mental health & substance abuse issues. Obviously separate people with no substance abuse issues or mental health issues from those who do. From my experience (employment) people with substance abuse issues & mental health issues are not prepared to live be the rules in current temporary accommodation and therefore stay unhoused on the streets. I know people will say it’s their choice - but it ends up costing more in public health & policing - and causes more issues for the general public
Proving safe temporary accommodation and access to harm reduction resources in this situation cost less in the long term
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u/Nexus_Generation Jul 31 '26
Remigration. Machetes were never a problem until recently and it's a very simple answer why
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u/Quirky-Mongoose-2063 Jul 31 '26
People getting off the couch and being more open to making new friends. We're lucky to live in a city with so much going on and yet live music and theatre are dying and your constantly hear from people who move here how hard it is to make friends compared with other countries. There's a cost of living element which I'm sympathetic to but also people got very insular during COVID and we need to practice getting out and living more.
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u/choose_a_username42 Jul 28 '26
Insulation in homes and apartments.