Published: The Mercury 15th October 2024
It is welcome news that the Tasmanian government will not progress with funding for the Collins St bike lanes.
Collins St is a vital service road in the inner CDB of a capital city, it is not a suburban street.
The CBD has come a long way, it is already a much safer and
pedestrian-friendly place with wider footpaths and fewer traffic lanes.
Because of these much wider footpaths, and in combination with our narrow Georgian streets, we cannot fit everything into one space, so compromise is needed.
The original proposal took away all parking between Murray and Harrington streets (hardly a compromise), and the backlash from the public and businesses started.
It is no wonder the state government got nervous and pulled the funding. We are in the middle of a budget crisis so any development that has major public opposition is the first to go.
The City of Hobart still intends to go through with the project, but they don’t work on budget considerations, they run on ideology. Newsflash, ideology doesn’t pay the bills.
Edwin Johnstone
Chair, Confederation of Greater Hobart Business
