MAJAORITY OF HOBART RESIDENTS OPPOSED TO COLLINS STREET BIKE LANES, RESEARCH SHOWS
A clear majority of Hobart residents are opposed to the proposed Collins Street dual-bike lanes, according to
research undertaken by respected Tasmanian pollster Enterprise Marketing and Research Services (EMRS).
The research shows that 58 per cent of the residents of greater Hobart (Clark) oppose the bike lanes, including 56 per cent opposition in the Hobart LGA itself.
This includes 40 percent of greater Hobart residents who “strongly oppose” the bike lanes.
“This research makes clear that the Council’s proposed dual-bike lanes are opposed by the majority of Hobartians, with good reason,” said Edwin Johnstone, Chair of the Confederation of Greater Hobart Business.
“They have been imposed by the Hobart City Council without consultation with shop-owners and traders on the street.
“By severely curtailing vehicle access and parking, these changes will smash local traders who are already battling high inflation, high interest rates, and depressed economic conditions.
“Even worse, shop-owners are being lectured by the Council that Council knows best, that these foolish changes will somehow be good for your business”.
“The Council has not produced a single piece of empirical evidence to support this argument”.
“We call on Hobart City Council to scrap their foolish bike lane proposal, for the benefit of small business and shoppers in Hobart.”
Mr. Johnstone said the Confederation was not surprised by the lack of support in the community for the bike lanes as evidenced in this research and are currently collecting 1000 signatures for a public meeting, as the first step to
force an elector poll on the issue.
The petition can be found at cghb.org.au/petition
Edwin Johnstone
Chair, Confederation of Greater Hobart Business
The research was undertaken between November 5-14 as part of EMRS’ Omnibus survey, with a sample size and margin of error respectively in Clark (190, +/- 7.1%) and Hobart LGA (92, +/- 10.32%).
The question asked was “The Hobart City Council has announced plans to install bike lanes on both sides of Collins Street in the city between Molle Street and Murray Street. To what extent do you support or oppose this
plan?”
The question was commissioned on behalf of the Confederation of Hobart Businesses by a concerned Hobart ratepayer.