BROKEN CITY

HOW many times must we watch the HCC try to change Hobart city by repainting a sign, putting in new street lights, adding colourful incidental furniture, and rebranding?

Let’s step back and take into account the reasons the CBD is broken. City centres die when people have limited access. Due to the lack of reliable public transport, many use cars to travel from suburbs. The geography of the city has complex one- way circulation of traffic intersected with two arterial roads, cutting the city in half. From there we move to the traffic on Liverpool St ( from Murray and Elizabeth streets) which changed from two lanes to one. This has caused traffic congestion since its 2015 inception.

Is a city transformed by pretty footpaths, new signs on carparks and removing vehicles?

HCC tried to modernise our city centre by updating parking metres, however, motorists appear confused and frustrated by the technology. In major cities, metres are shopper- friendly, allowing extra minutes, but HCC don’t have a grace period. Gone, too, is the sharing of leftover metre time. This is an aggressive pursuit of revenue by HCC, counter to having the kind of streets people want to linger, spend time and money. There lies the dilemma for the HCC, lead by the Lord Mayor, if it aspires to have a world- class urban environment. It has to deal with parking in a meaningful way. It is in HCC interests to maintain revenue from parking, however, if the Lord Mayor wants to address sustainability, growth and city vitality, perhaps it’s time to think big. Divest of carparks, repurpose the footprint, invest in public transport infrastructure, be creative with vacant land and set achievable targets for sustainable growth. Rebranding Melville St carpark is tinkering at the edges. Sonia Penny

Hobart