LIGHT RAIL NEEDED

YOUR editorial (May 10) correctly identifies the lack of imagination involved in continuing the spend on a river of tar, that will not solve Hobart’s congestion problems. The road spend is totally disproportionate to all other infrastructure needs in Tasmania.

The new commitments the Liberal Party gave to investment in public transport at the recent election isn’t that much more than the spending on one road project (the slip road out to the airport) and that spending is spread over four years.

Tasmania has the lowest spend on public transport of any Australian state.

The Tasmanian government virtually never submits a public transport project to the commonwealth for funding support. Light rail projects get billions of dollars of support in WA, SA, NSW, Queensland and the ACT.

Tasmania only got $20m for a transit corridor as part of the Hobart City Deal, the present Tasmanian government hasn’t even committed to light rail for the corridor (even though it was the No 1 option in their own consultants report).

Even though we are living through a golden age of infrastructure spending, the present Tasmanian government hasn’t got a single flagship public transport project submitted to the commonwealth.

It should submit the Hobart light rail project to the commonwealth for funding as an urgent public transport investment and bust Hobart’s traffic congestion problems.

Christian Bell Pedestrian & Public Transport Users Group Inc, Mount Nelson