Cars enable our lifestyle

TRANSPORT

I WAS so pleased to see Bob Cotgrove articulate so well what I also think (Talking Point, March 21)! He is totally on the ball with the reason car use is necessary — we are all trying to get to all the other places that demand our attention in a day, not just our workplace. Personal car use is not going to be reduced anytime soon whilst we enjoy this type of lifestyle. Most of us do not go into the city centre but are trying to get past it to go elsewhere, so the arterials of Davey and Macquarie are the biggest immediate problem. And yes, there are other areas that require attention too; don’t I know it, since I live at Dodges Ferry and work in New Town. to Sorell with a five metre buffer between two-way roads for fast light rail or bus service later, engineering out the Sorell choke points with bypasses. Pitt Water can have rock fill or concrete panels. This must meet Aboriginal artefact and environmental protection. Hobart’s traffic issues 60 per cent solved, then to Kingston, Huonville and Derwent Valley solutions aimed at 2030.

Roads not the answer

THE cliched busy family lifestyle Bob Cotgrove depicts applies to only a small part of the population for a small part of their lives, and even that lifestyle is rapidly evolving in the face of massive technological and social change. Any major new road for Hobart will cost a fortune, destroy valuable inner urban housing, damage the city’s attractiveness to residents and tourists, and do little to reduce congestion, as has been shown in countless cities since the late 20th century. Can we please see more of the excellent urban transportation and planning ideas of our university’s Professor of Human Geography and Planning, Jason Byrne?

Business hindered

I READ with fear and trepidation about Hobart City Council’s grand idea of blocking Salamanca Place to allow more freedom for pedestrians ( Mercury, March 21). With very few exceptions, all forms of business require pick-up and delivery drivers. Another good example of stupidity is A new way to have your say 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. closing the docks, so the toffs off cruise ships can meander around the dockfront, snapping selfies, while I struggle with an overloaded trolley to get supplies to my customers, with a long walk thrown in for good measure. Let’s not mention the Wellington Centre, with the minuscule loading zone in Kemp St closed, while some new toilet block is built. Where is the contingency plan? The city is so obsessed with pandering to the few while the majority get walked over. More loading zones are urgently needed, not more being removed.

Time is precious

BOB Cotgrove absolutely hits the nail on the head (Talking Point, March 21). The daily routine for most people involves multiple activities revolving around work and family with time imperatives (children to sport, games, extra-curricular activities, shopping, medical and personal appointments). Time is our most valued resource and we expect in a city like Hobart, with our population, we should be able to juggle all these things in a timely and effective way. We can’t justify or expect a subway or public transport network like the major cities, so the car, not public transport, allows us to quickly link dispersed activities into connected journeys. More buses, ferries and bike lanes will do nothing to fix our traffic congestion. Make more clearways the priority, not parking, on all lanes of major arterials like Macquarie and Davey streets, Sandy Bay Rd etc for the whole day, and invest in roads to allow you to cross the city more easily.

Banking disgrace

IS it any wonder our society is in such disarray. When you read the feeble excuses coming out of the Banking Royal Commission about bank behaviour. When will somebody admit their mistakes and accept responsibility for their actions? What a disgrace.

Budapest query

IT’S good to see HCC alderman Damon Thomas calling for more transparency and any benefits to be derived from overseas trips by councillors. What would Budapest for example do for Hobart ratepayers? This should be policy and apply to all elected personnel, including state government and members of State Parliament.

Last flight

UNFORTUNATELY, Saturday will be the last of our flights to and from Avalon. Always seemed well patronised when we have flown!

Pedestrians are drivers, too

CONCERNING Salamanca, I would remind the council that pedestrians are people who have found somewhere to park their cars.