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'What next - barbed wire?' Anti-terror bollards installed across Melbourne's CBD

Larissa Ham
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Commuters are being greeted by an increasingly familiar sight around Melbourne's CBD: large concrete bollards to help prevent terrorism attacks.

More than 50 of the bollards, placed around Southern Cross Station's major entry points, sprang up at the station, and on Queensbridge Street in Southbank, overnight. They are part of a $10 million safety upgrade announced by Premier Dan Andrews earlier this month to prevent terrorism and hinder vehicle attacks.

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New security measures for Melbourne's CBD

Concrete bollards are being placed around Melbourne's CBD as a response to recent terrorism threats.

The temporary concrete blocks have already been installed at Federation Square and Bourke Street.

It's estimated up to 140 bollards have been placed at nine locations around the city, including:

  • Queensbridge Square at Queensbridge Street, Southbank
  • Queensbridge Square at the intersection with Southbank Boulevard footpath
  • Boathouse Drive under Princes Bridge
  • Federation Square at the Swanston Street/Flinders Street intersection
  • Flinders Street Station at the Swanston Street/Flinders Street intersection
  • Southern Cross Station between Collins Street and Lt Collins Street
  • Southern Cross Station at Bourke Street
  • Queen Victoria Market surrounds

What do you think of the bollards? Take our poll below

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It's understood the temporary bollards will be replaced with planter boxes in the future.

At Southern Cross station, the new bollards provoked a mixed reaction from early morning commuters on Friday.

City worker Jean, who didn't want to give his full name, described them as "absolutely hideous".

"What next - barbed wire? It doesn't look good at all," he said. "Safety's paramount, but I'm sure there's other ways of controlling safety around the city.

"The world's most livable city, and now we're having concrete bollards everywhere. The design's not good, hopefully it's temporary."

Others were resigned to the fact that the bollards might be necessary amid the current climate.

"That's what it's come to isn't it really?" said Steve Grant. "It's just the way of the world."

Commuter Andrea Elliott said she welcomed the safety measure, but said they were not an attractive addition to the station. "If it's going to stop somebody doing what the other person did [on Swanston Street], fine."

When announcing the bollards, Mr Andrews said a rapid response was crucial to ensure public safety. "We weren't going to wait around for six months or 12 months while planter boxes are built so they look better," he said at the time.  

The sites for the barriers were identified by Victoria Police but Mr Andrews said for security reasons the locations would be announced as they were installed.  

The bollards may prove an extra challenge for legally blind Melburnians such as Graham Frizzell.

"Though I have yet to encounter them, I'm not looking forward to the prospect of avoiding them as I dodge the vast majority of Melburnians who can't seem to grasp the simple concept of walking on their left-hand side," he said.

"It's just one more thing that'll drive me stir crazy when walking through the city. At least the obstacles in this case are inanimate this time."

Police Minister Lisa Neville said the government had to act quickly and the current concrete blocks were only temporary.

"These are temporary, these are not what people will have to put up with forever," she told radio station 3AW.

"This has been in response to international incidents and we just thought 'we can't wait'."

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