Domain Road’s outdoor dining parklets set to stay

Domain Road’s outdoor dining “parklets” – installed and maintained by the Metro Tunnel Project – will become a permanent feature of the popular strip in a win for local business owners. 

The parklets have proven to be a success story since they were first funded in late 2019 – and they are here to stay after Domain Road reopened to traffic last month. 

The parklets were intended to be temporary pop-ups to support local businesses, residents and visitors during the construction of the tunnels and the nearby Anzac Station but have since proven to be an irreplaceable hit for traders.

Domain Road traders will take over the management and maintenance of the parklets, with the support of the City of Melbourne. 

The parklets are located outside five of Domain Road’s hospitality businesses – No 179 Domain Food & Wine, Domain Brasserie, Bacash Restaurant, Gilson South Yarra, and The Botanical Hotel. 

The public can use the bench seating in six of the parklets’ seven pods, even when the businesses are closed.

The perimeters have been planted out with 343 plants, shrubs and trees.

The parklets helped keep Domain Road businesses afloat during COVID restrictions, as patrons were able to dine safely outdoors.

Anzac Station – just up the road from the row of businesses – will give Melburnians access to St Kilda Road’s growing employment, education and residential precinct via train for the first time. 

The station, opening next year, will also make it easier to get to some of Melbourne’s most important destinations, including the Shrine of Remembrance, the Royal Botanic Gardens and Albert Park.

The station has been designed as a “pavilion in the park” and includes four entrances with stairs, lifts and escalators that link to a new pedestrian underpass beneath busy St Kilda Road. 

It also features Melbourne’s first direct tram/train interchange, which will provide a seamless connection between tram and train services while taking pressure off the world’s busiest tram corridor.

The tram stop, which opened in 2022, has extra-long platforms that can fit four trams at a time for large crowds attending events such as ANZAC Day and the Melbourne Grand Prix. 

The Metro Tunnel will connect the busy Sunbury and Cranbourne/Pakenham lines via a new tunnel under the city, creating an end-to-end rail line from the north-west to the south-east, giving passengers new connections and more choice. •