In December 2023 Council supported the community to deliver the 2023 Boulevard Christmas Lights by helping with traffic management to improve traffic flow, access for residents and pedestrian safety.

Our approach was to balance traffic management, congestion and resident access with the safety of those who come to experience the Lights. Council's role included:

• Implementing the Traffic Management Plan - view 'Traffic Management' below for more details
• Providing rubbish bins and rubbish collection
• Providing toilet facilities and drinking water.

The Boulevard Lights in Ivanhoe attracts people from across Melbourne and is considered to be an essential Christmas tradition.

Each year, thousands of people drive and walk along the Boulevard each evening in the lead up to Christmas, with up to 10,000 visitors a night.

The tradition started over 60 years ago, with residents of The Boulevard and surrounding streets decorating their houses, windows and gardens with light displays, nativity scenes and Christmas decorations.

Banyule Council has supported this resident-led event over many years, providing traffic management to improve traffic flow and access for residents, and look after pedestrian safety.

Reassessing the community tradition

In the years prior to COVID, The Boulevard Christmas Lights attracted up to 10,000 visitors a night, prompting ongoing concerns regarding the high level of risk in mixing vehicles and pedestrians. On a number of occasions, the entire road needed to be closed for safety reasons. This understandably caused disappointment for visitors who had waited long periods to enter the Boulevard, and difficulties for residents accessing their properties.

After two years of The Boulevard Lights not running due to COVID, the Lights returned in 2022. In the lead up, Council surveyed local residents to gain perspective about the Lights, including how future Boulevard Lights celebrations are best planned and managed. You can view the findings from the survey under 'Community Engagement'.

Our approach in 2023

Similar to 2022, our approach was to balance traffic management, congestion and resident access, with the safety of those who come to experience the Lights.

Council's role included:

• To implement the same Traffic Management Plan as 2022, with some minor changes to improve the experience for both visitors and residents. View the 'Traffic Management' tab for more details
• To provide rubbish bins and collection
• To provide toilet facilities and drinking water.

Traffic Management Plan

To ease congestion, encourage traffic flow and maintain property access for residents, the Traffic Management Plan (TMP) places very few restrictions on vehicle access on and around The Boulevard.

To improve safety for pedestrians visiting The Boulevard, the TMP provides a buffer between the road and footpaths in high visitation areas and supervised crossing points in the lead-up to Christmas.

Safety measures included:

• Two-way traffic along the entire Boulevard
• Pedestrians restricted to footpaths and encouraged to walk in a one-way direction, with designated crossing points.
• Access to The Boulevard from all side streets and from Bourke Road
• Bollards, safety tape and water-filled barriers in place along sections of The Boulevard from Friday 15 December to support early pedestrian visitation
• Traffic controllers present along The Boulevard from Tuesday 19 December to Sunday 24 December (7.30pm – 10:30pm) during anticipated peak period
• During the period from 19 to 24 December, the speed limit along The Boulevard will be reduced to 20km/h.
• Restricted parking in some sections of local streets.

View map for more details.

During September and October 2023, we asked the community to help us plan for the Boulevard Lights 2023. 78 people completed the online or hardcopy survey and 11 people attended in-person drop-in sessions at Ivanhoe Park.

What we heard

As a result of your feedback, we:

• updated the Traffic Management Plan to ensure busy areas are safe for pedestrians
• Sent the Traffic Management Plan to over 1000 households in the immediate and surrounding area in early December
• Created a 'plan your trip' page for visitors to our website including a map and information on when and how to visit The Boulevard Christmas Lights.
• will check in with our residents with a post-event survey to gather additional feedback.

In 2022, after disruptions caused by COVID, 225 residents of The Boulevard and surrounding streets provided feedback through an online and hard copy survey, to help shape how future Boulevard Lights celebrations are best planned and managed.

Take a look at a summary of key findings below, or view the full findings report.