Vale, Hobart of my childhood

I AGREE with Simon Bevilacqua’s suggestion ( Mercury on Saturday, November 28) of an anti- vehicle mentality in the CBD of Hobart. Traffic has become gridlocked for much of the day. Parking is difficult to find, meters are hard to read and, no matter how much coin you throw at them, it’s never enough. I’m surprised the two- hour parking spots further up Macquarie St haven’t yet been metered. When that happens, as it will, I’ll never visit the CBD.

Hobart has the traffic congestion of much larger cities. The lower end of Liverpool St feels dangerous to drive along. Very few of us will give up our cars, but it feels as if our council and government are deliberately trying to change our relationship with our vehicles. It won’t work.

There is little area for pedestrians to sit and find shelter in the CBD, and yes, greenery is almost non- existent.

The Hobart of my childhood is a distant warm memory.

CONSULTATION

Paul Merhulik Blackmans Bay

IT was disappointing to read Simon Bevilacqua’s column about work council is doing to upgrade city streets. There is nothing “toxic” about widening footpaths, creating outdoor dining spaces, installing bike paths or charging for parking. Cities worldwide are doing the same, regardless of the political leanings in town halls. Managing city streets for a range of users is part of the nuts and bolts work of councils, but where Hobart is unusual is how much we consult and involve the community.

What Simon was not aware of is that for two years in the Midtown area, council staff have encouraged people to bring ideas to the table. We set up a team of traders and residents to design the street upgrade project with engineers and planners over several days. Most businesses are excited about the beautification of their area. A noisy minority are not, but have still been heard and accommodated to an extent.

Hobart is changing and evolving. There are now thousands more people visiting, staying and living in the city than there were a few years ago. Like most cities, we are trying to juggle the different users of busy city streets. I would love the opportunity to provide a briefing for Simon on the work we do.

Anna Reynolds Lord Mayor of Hobart

ANTI- CAR PRESSURE

AS usual, Simon Bevilacqua discusses difficult issues rationally. The policy to exclude motorised vehicles from Hobart is not just rumour, but common knowledge. Despite being a motorist, I have some sympathy for the HCC. They are victims of the proverb that begins, “Ask a stupid question...”, and they haven’t had, don’t have, and won’t have a budget that can or could cope with motorised vehicles. So they do what they can, even though it’s a lot less than what needs to be done. Ideology has little to do with this behaviour.

Although Hobart’s problems seem to be city problems and council problems, they aren’t. They are state problems and need state solutions. We need to merge councils and make the state government responsible.

Keith Anderson

Kingston

KEEP ITS SOUL

TASMANIA, including Hobart, will never be able to be without cars, no matter how much obstructing greenery. There will likely be more cars. It is already difficult to meet for lunch and a movie in North Hobart, Salamanca or the waterfront. The only way to get to an appointment may be by parking in a carpark and taking a taxi, but look at the cost. There can be a happy compromise with greenery, cars and the community the benefit businesses. It just needs a bit of a different organisation in the space available. Hobart has changed and will keep changing, but hopefully it has not lost its soul already. H. Stevenson

Lauderdale

STUPID CONCEPT

IN Talking Point (“Toxic ideology is killing our community and destroying business” Mercury on Saturday, November 28), Louise Bloomfield outlines the many reasons the HCC Midtown Strategic Plan will detrimentally impact on businesses and trading.

There are also other reasons the plan is fundamentally flawed. Chief among these is that tables and seating at the outdoor dining areas would be positioned on a substantial gradient. Traffic congestion and fumes would also be another issue and there is only a dedicated bike lane going in one direction. The negative impact on businesses in the area is obvious. Altogether it is a stupid concept.

Clever design involves a bit more than producing pretty coloured images.

One wonders how long it will take before Hobart businesses form a collective action group and commence legal proceedings against the council for actively destroying trading in the CBD with their short sightedness, poor planning and restrictive actions.

Monica Antel

Cambridge

GREENSLEEVES

LOUISE Bloomfield claims that Hobart Council is driven by green ideology, but as far as I know, only two of the 12 councillors are Greens.

I suggest that given she is unable to travel to Europe at the moment, that she studies how European cities like Kobenhavn have managed to make the transition from car dependency to people friendly, which might make her understand better what so many of us would like Hobart to be like.

She might even find herself infected by the same “toxic green ideology” that she appears to dread and enjoy walking round the city, riding her e- bike or escooter or even getting the bus into town.

Peter D. Jones Lenah Valley