Tick for safer Salamanca

A HOBART City Council plan to make the Salamanca waterfront precinct more pedestrian friendly with zebra crossings and a diversion of traffic away from Salamanca Place has been unanimously approved by the council.

This week’s council meeting endorsed the next stage of the Salamanca pedestrian works project, at a $3.5 million cost.

The project will see the road linking Morrison St to Montpelier Retreat closed to make way for a multiple-purpose area for pedestrians and other uses — such as the Salamanca Market and special events.

It will also involve the creation of five pedestrian walkways, including at the end of Montpelier Retreat and across Salamanca Place east of Gladstone St.

The project went out for public consultation in May and alderman and city infrastructure chairwoman Helen Burnet said it was well received.

Ald Burnet said the next stages would be focused on upgrading the public spaces in the Salamanca precinct.

“During May we did some further consultation around the concept and essentially we have had significant support,” she said. “The aim is to create more public space and make it safer for pedestrians.”

The plan also involves converting the two-lane northbound one-way road connecting Gladstone St to Morrison St to a two-way road, and reconstructing Castray Esplanade to form a conventional T-intersection with Morrison St. There will also be an alignment of surfaces to eliminate level changes between footpaths and road surfaces. Construction will begin next year.

Meanwhile, a motion from Ald Damon Thomas to seek joint state and council ownership of Macquarie and Davey streets has fallen at its first hurdle. Ald Thomas had sought an urgent report into the value of joint ownership of the streets as the Government has begun proceedings to take over the two main thoroughfares.

The motion was deferred and will be discussed at the next city infrastructure committee meeting.

The takeover would require legislative amendments and may not happen this year.