Cafe strip plans parked

North Hobart traffic fix tangled in red tape

THE solution to the parking woes in North Hobart has stalled due to planning red tape and may be delayed by up to a year.

A simple fix to North Hobart’s parking crunch appeared to have been found with Hobart City Council provisionally agreeing in December to create a new carpark in the popular restaurant precinct at Lefroy St.

The agreement between the council and the owner of a block of land at 321-325 Elizabeth St, behind Kebab Rehab, was to provide an extra 39 parking spaces.

It was hoped the carpark could open by mid-year but that now seems unlikely as it may require a change-of-use request to be approved and sent to the Tasmanian Planning Commission. This could take up to a year. North Hobart Traders As- sociation president John Kelly said it was very deflating. “It means a long delay,” he said.

A council spokesman confirmed there were some issues within the planning scheme but said the council was committed to working with the developer to find a solution.

Meanwhile, about 20 North Hobart traders, council staff and Uber representatives attended a meeting in North Hobart on Thursday to discuss a range of issues.

Parking issues have been rife along the popular Elizabeth St eating strip, with a lack of car spaces being exacerbated by Uber Eats drivers flouting the rules.

Mr Kelly said the meeting convened by the council did not provide any solutions to the Uber Eats issues plaguing the area.

“The biggest thing that was highlighted is that the council is acting as an agent for Uber as the council is fielding all the complaints,” Mr Kelly said.

“It should be Uber.”

An Uber spokeswoman said it wanted to partner with Hobart to help people move around safely and reliably.

“We’ve been working proactively with the council to provide pick-up information to delivery-partners, including details of the dedicated zone allocated by council,” she said.

“It was great to meet with locals and council representatives, and we look forward to continuing to work together with the council on solutions that benefit the community.”