May 29, 2016 11:00am
HOBART City Council is set to reject some short-term recommendations of a State Government-commissioned report aimed at easing traffic congestion.
The Hobart Congestion Traffic Analysis 2016 report was put together by traffic expert Keith Midson, but the council was not consulted.
The council is also developing a transport strategy.
The short-term recommendations from the report council will not support include:
INSTALLATION of a clearway in Davey St between Barrack St and Molle St.
ACLEARWAY in Davey St on the left side between Antill St and the Southern Outlet.
A CLEARWAY in Macquarie St between Antill St and Molle St
A TRIAL of extended-length clearways in Macquarie St (above of Murray St) and in Davey St (above of Harrington St)
REMOVAL of pedestrian crossings at traffic signal locations across the city.
The HCC noted the Midson report did not give any direction on the future ownership of Macquarie and Davey streets or who was responsible for progressing recommendations.
Council infrastructure committee chairwoman Helen Burnet said some recommendations did not make sense.
“We just had our second workshop on the Hobart transport strategy so we want to look at the bigger picture of finding transport solutions and this [Midson] report was fairly underwhelming,” Alderman Burnet said.
“These were short-term solutions which probably could have been thought through more thoroughly.”
She said one of the main concerns was the proposed reduction in pedestrian flow.
“Traffic flow shouldn’t be about just looking at car movements — it should be getting everybody around the city, including pedestrians and cyclists — there could have been a much greater emphasis on bike movements,” she said.
“We really need to be a lot more strategic if we’re going to get lasting solutions.”
Infrastructure Minister Rene Hidding said he met Lord Mayor Sue Hickey on the matter recently.
“The Hobart City Council has proposed some changes to improve traffic flow — this represents a start, but the council has rejected a number of recommended measures,” Mr Hidding said.
“There is much more to do to improve traffic flow in Greater Hobart and the Government has announced it is prepared to implement all the short-term recommendations of the Midson report.
“We will work closely with Hobart City Council through the Lord Mayor and senior officials towards that objective.”
The matter will go before the full council on June 6.
Source : The Mercury
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