Fix the lights, add clearways
YES, traffic congestion is a bit of a pain in Hobart, but is definitely not like Melbourne and Sydney (Talking Point, December 23). We could however learn from those big cities. Firstly, traffic lights are to regulate the efficient flow of traffic. They were not designed as speed-calming assets. It is even worse on the Brooker and East Derwent highways. Stopping and starting is perhaps the most CO2-emitting issue in transport, so why aren’t the Greens grandstanding? A no-brainer would be peakhour clearways on Macquarie and Davey streets. Perhaps Hobart council could install its parking pads to identify and tow infringing cars. Which brain surgeon thought a 50km/h limit on Macquarie and Davey was a great idea? In peak hour, speed is self-regulated down while at other times sparsely distributed vehicles are limited to 50 on four-lane roads that are the only North-South corridor in Hobart.
Boxing Day
SOME people think the day after Christmas Day has an origin of a lot of people fighting in boxing rings. December 26, long ago in Europe, was when people presented one another with boxes of Christmas gifts. It also relates to Saint Stephen’s Day, in honour of the saint being the first Christian martyr and who is in the song Good King Wenceslas. Traditionally, gifts were given and received the day after Christmas Day. And the modern Santa Claus was created in the early 1900s by an advertising agency for the Coca-Cola company. years, and muzzled publicity of the appalling conditions. I would be so pleased if people could think about what lengths they would go to to protect their loved ones from violence and persecution. Christian? Gay? Speaking up against the government? We really do live in a fortunate country, where all of these things are OK. If you are a politician in power at the moment, please use your power for good. ily. Following a flight two years ago when strong winds prevented the “lifter” being used and we carried my mother up the airline steps, I decided to book with Qantas so we could use its ramp system. I booked in May. I need not have bothered. The ramp has been taken to Gold Coast Airport. Presumably, Qantas can only afford one. To retirees making Tasmania their home, I would point out what Tasmanians with mobility issues have long known, don’t think Hobart “International” Airport or the airlines care about equal access or your comfort. They don’t.