City’s bad case of clogged arteries

ALMOST 90 per cent of Tasmanians believe the state government should be doing more to combat traffic congestion woes in Hobart, the Mercury’s Big Issues survey has found.

When asked, “Do you think enough is being done to reduce traffic congestion in Hobart?”, 87.3 per cent of the 3200 respondents answered “no”, while just 12.75 per cent said “yes”.

A majority of respondents (64.29 per cent of 3200 people) said their commute time had increased over the past few years.

Multiple readers said a Hobart bypass would help rein in congestion. “Do a bypass of the city, especially for large vehicles,” one reader said. “Build more ferry terminals for commuters. Build a light rail from New Norfolk to the city.”

Another respondent said a CBD bypass should be built “from the Southern Outlet to the Brooker Highway”.

Urban geographer and transport economist Bob Cotgrove said Hobart was the only capital city without a bypass around its CBD. “It’s ridiculous that the city of Hobart, which has got a population of a quarter of a million people, should face some of the worst traffic congestion in Australia,” he said.

Together with retired civil engineer Tony Denne and ex-Treasury secretary Don Challen, Mr Cotgrove proposed in 2018 a design for a new “western bypass” that would have connected the city’s three arterial roads – the Southern Outlet and the Brooker and Tasman highways – with an 80 km/h road and tunnel system.

The project was estimated to cost $1.45bn but a state government-commissioned consultant’s report found while a western bypass would be technically feasible, it would require a population of about two million people to be viable and would cost $3.4bn.

Infrastructure and Transport Minister Michael Ferguson said the government was building the “necessary infrastructure” to incentivise the use of public transport and multi-occupant vehicle commuting.

“The Greater Hobart Traffic Solution commits $200m in funding for short and long-term transport initiatives to manage peak commuter demand in the Hobart area,” he said.

“This includes the new Southern Outlet transit lane (including an extra lane through the bottleneck to Macquarie St), new shared pathways on the Tasman Bridge, expansion of the Derwent Ferry service, as well as the already-completed Kingborough Park and Ride facilities.” However, Bicycle Network Tasmania public affairs manager Alison Hetherington (left) said the government needed to be building more active transport infrastructure and making roads less “vehicle-centric”.

“We know that the majority of people will ride or will consider riding if there’s separation and that’s the real key to getting people on to bikes and scooters and walking,” she said.

Independent Clark MP Kristie Johnston said the government needed to reconsider its opposition to a Hobart light-rail system.

“Part of the attraction of Hobart northern suburbs rail, in particular, is its opportunity to ‘cityshape’ and to rejuvenate brownfield sites along the rail corridor and make them available for housing,” she said.

city It’s ridiculous that the got a of Hobart, which has of population of a quarter a million people, should face some of the worst traffic congestion in Australia

BOB COTGROVE