Violence, nostalgia and the unravelling of Melbourne’s first pedestrian mall

Katie Hall has first-hand experience of violence on Footscray’s Nicholson Street. A walk with the MP reveals her solution is splitting the suburb.

Katie Hall MP (pictured) is proposing reopening Footscray’s Nicholson Street Mall to cars, 55 years after it was closed to traffic. Joe Armao

When state Labor MP Katie Hall steps outside her office and the heavy door clicks shut behind her, a confusing mix of carnage and cherished memories lies at her doorstep.

Fewer than five minutes’ walk from her electorate office is Nicholson Street Mall, where her grandmother used to take her to Forges, Footscray’s premier department store.