Spring clean for Chapel Street
Published on 22 September 2025
Part of supporting a safe, vibrant and welcoming Chapel St precinct is having clean and tidy streets – so in the spirit of spring, our team has been out in force.
Stonnington Mayor, Cr Melina Sehr is pleased to see Chapel Street getting the added TLC it needs.
“There is a standard amount of cleaning resource allocated to Chapel Street through our operational budget, as with every other precinct in Stonnington. But this amped-up resource through the improvement plan recognises that Chapel Street needs extra attention given its high foot-traffic nature and added challenges with anti-social behaviour.”
As a key element of our holistic approach to uplift the precinct – increasing cleaning and maintenance efforts has been a top priority since day one. Here’s what we’ve been up to:
We’ve introduced weekly precinct-wide pressure washing, complementing the existing 16-week motorised scrubber wash cycle. The full Chapel Street Precinct is now cleaned on a monthly rotation, in addition to daily pressure cleaning of hot spot locations and impacted sites.
An additional roaming cleaning officer has been assigned specifically to Chapel Street (on top of the existing three roaming cleaners), undertaking footpath, kerb, and channel cleaning, as well as spot cleaning, bin-top wiping, and other general presentation tasks.
Walkthrough audits of several Chapel Street blocks have been completed with Council officers. A range of redundant signs, outdated infrastructure, and amenity issues were identified, with works now underway to remove them and clean things up.
Council officer assistance is available for traders, providing a single point of contact for urgent cleaning needs (e.g. spills, hazards, and other rapid-response requests where immediate attention is required).
A full audit of Council-owned assets along Chapel Street (including seating, bin cages, pedestrian railings, bike hoops, and tree surrounds) has been completed. Replacement and replenishment works are currently being costed and will be delivered over the coming months.
How does a clean environment support safety?
According to Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design principles – spaces that appear clean and cared for are less likely to attract anti-social behaviour. On the other hand, spaces that are not clean or well-maintained give the impression an area is not monitored, which can make it a hot spot for crime.
But as Cr Melina Sehr explains, a tidy street is just one piece in the Chapel Street puzzle.
“With joint patrols, exciting activations, bold marketing and increased trader support all working together, we hope to see the positive evolution of Chapel Street into the safe and vibrant place our community deserves - a momentum that will build on itself.”