Traffic solutionsstuck in slow lane

THE road to sensibletraffic management inHobart has been

plagued by U-turns and round-abouts.

Experts have attempted to ad-dress the city's traffic woes sincethe end of World War II.

Hobart's traffic problems areagain under the microscope, follow-ing the release last week of a jointstudy by the Southern TasmanianCouncils Authority and TasmanianGovernment, and Danish architectJan Gehl's vision for the city.

Gehl's calls for Salamanca Placeto become a car-free zone and areduction of cars in the CBD hasbeen criticised by Tony Wilson, aman with 30 years' intimate know-ledge of Hobart's traffic woes.

Mr Wilson was a traffic consult-ant in the 1970s and worked for theDepartment of Main Roads for 20years until the late 19905.

As a consultant, he helped com-pile the 1970 Hobart TransportStudy Revision one of six majortraffic reports in the past 65 years.

The study attempted to tone downa "radical proposal" of earlier re-ports to carve a northern freeway

through inner-city suburbs.It devised a plan to build a

western bypass, which Mr Wilsondescribed as a "more acceptable"way to divert traffic from Daveyand Macquarie streets.

But politicos of the day weren'tconvinced and Mr Wilson saidtraffic on the two roads still causedheadaches for commuters today.

"I think all of the improvements[made to Hobart roads over theyears] have been very well plannedbut they just haven't been able toaddress the issue of bypassing thecity centre," he said.

"The big difference now is therewere options for providing a west-ern bypass of the city back then.Now those options have dried up."

Mr Wilson said Gehl's vision forHobart was too simplistic.

"You can't just take [cars] out ofthe equation and expect a city tofunction," he said. "I think whatthat fails to recognise is that youstill need to be able to get from oneside of the city to the other."

He said Hobart was too spread outstretching from Sorel to Margate

and out to Brighton to expectpeople to rely on public transport.

"You have to plan a public trans-port service that competes with thespeed of private transport," he said.

Roads and traffic general man-

ager for the Department of Infra-structure, Energy and ResourcesPeter Todd said new infrastructurewasn't the way to solve Hobart'straffic problems.

"The bottom line is that it isalmost impossible, for environ-mental and cost reasons, to buildourselves out of the problem," hesaid.

Light rail, improved cycle facili-ties and bus services were likely tobe key players in any future plans.

Mr Todd dismissed the possibilityof tunnels a way of life interstate

because of population, environ-mental and cost concerns.

"Tunnels are incredibly expens-ive ... Tasmania simply is notresourced to develop such infra-structure and simply does not havethe population density for it to bejustified," he said.

Tolls were unpopular and ringroads in their previously recom-mended forms seemed unlikely.

"These proposed roads wouldnow be economically prohibitive todevelop and would be unpalatableto the Hobart community. involvingas they do large-scale residentialacquisition and in some proposalsthe destruction of what is nowskyline reserve," Mr Todd said.

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RANSPORT REPORTS

1945 COOK REPORTProposed major ring road around Hobart that would have loopedaround Battery Point, Salamanca Place and near prime, historicallysignificant real estate. A new road would have been carved into the baseof Mt Wellington, connecting South Hobart with Lenah Valley.

1964 HOBART AREA TRANSPORTATION STUDYRadical proposal to carve a Northside Freeway through inner-city suburbsthat would have created a bypass for Davey and Macquarie streets.

1970 HOBART TRANSPORT STUDY REVISIONSuggested a western bypass, a toned-down version of the NorthsideFreeway proposal. Enforced a need for the Southern Outlet Predictedthe Tasman Bridge would be deficient by 1980, despite its tidal flowsystem. Recommended construction of the Bowen Bridge.

1979 DERWENT REGION TRANSPORT STUDYIdentified Kingston/ Blackmans Bay, Bridgewater/ Gagebrook andRokeby/ Clarendon Vale as key growth areas. Considered alternativetransport methods such as foot, cycle and public transport. Warnedabout rising fuel prices and limited availability of parking. Suggestedturning Murray St into a transit mall.

1985 HOBART CENTRAL AREA TRAFFIC STUDYConducted a "postcard survey" to gather commuter information andconducted roadside polls. Recommended more parking meters be put inthe CBD. Recommended more and improved public transport services.

1990 HOGLEN STUDYExamined needs of northern part of the city. Approved traffic lights atseveral intersections along Brooker Highway. Approved traffic calmingmeasures in North Hobart. Scrapped the Girrabong Rd bypass andMcRobies Rd extension both previously heralded proposals.

Expertshave beencoming upwith plans

to solveHobart's

road woessince 1945

but not alot has

happened,writes

HannahMartin

Sunday TasmanianSunday 5/12/2010Page: 18Section: General NewsRegion: Hobart Circulation: 58,968Type: News ItemSize: 511.08 sq.cms.Published: ------S

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