Blocked off at peak hour

TRANSPORT

WHY do the powers-that-be block off our city streets at peak time? The city is gridlocked enough without doing this. Apparently now whenever a cruise ship deems to dock at our wharf, the whole wharf area is totally gridlocked and blocked. I and seven other cars attempted to get through and was told the street had been blocked off for the safety of tourists. What about the safety of users on our roads at peak-hour. We had to turn around in a very narrow space one after the other and retreat to get back to where we could safely exit the city. It took me a good half-hour to get to the bridge. This is totally unacceptable and attention needs to be drawn to this debacle and have it fixed ASAP. The rail track will need to be upgraded because a previous government sold it to a US multinational which asset stripped stock before selling it back and leaving. Somewhere between ideological privatisation and ideological subsidisation is a workable transport solution.

Emergency hindrance

GIVE a thought to emergency vehicles. The driver heading towards Sorell on the East Derwent Highway and occupying the right hand lane at 90km/h was clearly not fussed by the ambulance lights and siren behind her vehicle. She maintained her position in the right-hand lane before braking as the ambulance driver was forced into a left-side passing manoeuvre. It is illegal to drive in the right lane where the speed limit is over 80 except when overtaking, but police no longer seem to enforce this. Cameras in emergency vehicles and prosecution of drivers who hinder their progress might go some way to train the clueless, including hire car drivers.

Moving congestion

THE Liberals’ proposal for an additional lane on the Southern Outlet makes little sense. Traffic will eventually encounter either Macquarie or Davey street, transferring blockages to another point. The only way to deal with the problem, and the damage that two traffic arteries do to the amenity of the city, is to build a tunnel. One tunnel entrance at the lowest point of the Southern Outlet and the other as close as possible to the city side of Tasman themercury.com.au readers have a new way to have their say. It’s free to use, just register and have your say. For more details and to register, visit the website. Bridge. An underground bus interchange sounds like a truly gruesome place to wait for a bus. Put that money and the cost of an outlet lane towards the tunnel.

Fix roundabout

IS it possible for Will Hodgman, Rene Hidding and Harvey Lennon to work together on fixing congestion at the Granton roundabout? In peak hours travelling north the traffic banks up almost to the Hilton Rd overpass because of the stupid set-up 1.5km from the roundabout, two lanes merging into one. A solution would be to continue the left hand lane by putting an extension onto Blacksnake Lane overpass and continue to the roundabout. This would allow vehicles travelling to New Norfolk to use this lane and not have to merge and without the holdup, and vehicles travelling north through Bridgewater would use the right lane. Merging two lanes does not work efficiently.

Build back road

A FIFTH lane on the Southern Outlet will only cause more chaos. The same thing happens, as it does each day, traffic gets caught up in a bottleneck at the end of the outlet. How is a $100 million underground bus mall going to reduce congestion? They will still have to come out and drive on the streets. What is needed is a city bypass. Spend the money to build a road through the back of South Hobart to the northern suburbs and pressure would ease.

Back door security

AUSTRALIAN security expert speaking with his American counterpart: How do you access information about possible unfriendly foreign governments? Answer: We use highgrade sophisticated satellite tracking devices. How about you? Answer: We just go down to the local federal government furniture disposal sale and buy a couple of locked filing cabinets. Gee. That’s impressive. Yes, and cheaper too.

Belated promises

IT’S a worry when governments prior to election day make future promises that should already be occurring while in power. Makes such promises look pretty hollow.

Pre-pokies

JUST wondering, what did the Glenorchy RSL do before pokies came along. Move on, back to basics.

Powers of investigation

ONE eagerly awaits news that the Tasmanian Integrity Commission has been given the powers to investigate whether its creators set it up to fail ( Mercury, February 2).