The Melbourne fun police just made a very Sydney decision

The fun police are out in force and they’re coming for Carlton’s median strips.

On warm evenings, the wide grassy areas in the middle of the road on tree-lined Canning, Rathdowne and Drummond streets are filled with clusters of friends and neighbours sprawling around picnic blankets and couples lying on the grass with their arms around each other.

Cyclists whir past along bike paths as the sun’s last rays bathe the grassy expanse in a golden glow.

These wholesome scenes have been a feature of life in Carlton since the days when I was at uni student there, but a couple of whingeing neighbours seem to have put an end to it.

Drinking is no longer allowed along the wide green median strips along these Carlton streets after the local council received complaints about noise, rubbish and unsafe behaviour.

The City of Yarra has capitulated to the interests of a few inner-city residents over the rights and enjoyment of the broader community.

It’s a ban that can only be described as very Sydney. Our northern neighbours have a history of wowserism, littered with lockout laws and drinking restrictions.

The source of most of the hand wringing appears to be the area outside the Wine Corner Store on the corner of Canning Street and Alexandra Parade where patrons from the bar and bottle shop frequently grab a glass of wine and head over to the grass to enjoy it.

Following a petition with a paltry 29 signatures on it, the City of Yarra has classified all three median strips in Carlton as “part of the road” rather than a municipal reserve and so has prohibited drinking there.

But the wide expanses of grass in the middle of these roads are not your typical slim median strips. They’re more like public parkland that can easily accommodate groups of happy picnickers and wine drinkers.

The roads are quiet with a speed limit of 40 and they carry almost as many bikes as cars on a typical day.

Safety does not seem to be the issue, as the owner of the Wine Corner Store points out “children kicking a footy or people lying in the sun” are still allowed.

Spend a few days in London or any other European city and marvel at how adults are trusted to take their beer or glass of wine and stand anywhere they like on the street near the pub rather than in a fenced off designated area.

The petition against the use of the Canning street median strip complains of litter, broken glass, noise late into the night and public urination.