Visitor centre squabble

THE head of the state’s peak tourism body has questioned why kunanyi/Mt Wellington needs a visitor centre as the “deficiencies” of the mountain’s main road are laid bare.

It was this week revealed that a potential kunanyi/Mt Wellington visitor centre at The Springs could be dropped in favour of a location further down the mountain.

A report to be considered by Hobart City Council’s Parks and Recreation Committee today proposes Halls Saddle at Ridgeway — outside the boundaries of Wellington Park — as an alternative site for a council-funded visitor centre, due largely to traffic concerns.

The council report says annual visitation is projected to grow to 700,000 by 2029, and Pinnacle Rd has “significant deficiencies”, including being too narrow in many places for two cars to safely pass. Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said the issue was not so much an engineering one but congestion on certain days.

“Yes, the road needs ongoing maintenance, and all of that falls on City of Hobart ratepayers at the moment. We get no support from the State Government — who is our partner in the Wellington Park Management Trust — even though it is the most highly visited natural site in the state,” she said. “We’re very keen to have a discussion with the State Government and the tourism industry about the needs for the mountain.”

Mt Wellington Cable Car Company chair Chris Oldfield said the company welcomed the admission by the council that there were significant problems with the road.

“The cable car would remove up to an estimated 180,000 cars and buses from the road each year,” he said.

Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin questioned the need for a visitor information centre anywhere on the mountain.

“Tourists want investment in facilities, but information visitor centres aren’t usually financially viable on their own,” he said.

“I hope it doesn’t turn into the most expensive coffee and gift shop funded by Hobart ratepayers.”

Mr Martin said the council needed to focus on making the road more viable and accessible, but this was hampered by the “most convoluted” management system.

The Wellington Park Management Trust includes Hobart and Glenorchy City councils, Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, TasWater and Tourism Tasmania.