The Hobart City Council has voted against installing ‘sharrows’ on both sides of a stretch of Collins Street and plans to go to the state government demanding its funding back.
At a meeting on Monday night, councillors voted in favour of a design that includes a 24/7 protected cycleway on the citybound side of the road from Victoria to Murray street, with only the southbound side to get ‘sharrows’.
The change means all parking will be removed from the citybound side and a busy bus stop will be shifted into the traffic lane. Parking will stay on the southbound side.
Councillor Gemma Kitsos said the proposal for ‘sharrows’ on both sides, an option supported by many local businesses, was a “compromise too far”.
“It risks us building a cycleway that is perceived to be inefficient, perceived to go nowhere,” she said.
“I think this is a really good compromise that retains all of the parking on the southbound side while allowing the cyclists a clear run into the CBD.”
Some councillors raised concerns about the relocated bus stop, which is regularly used by the airport SkyBus service and can deal with large amounts of luggage.
Councillor Louise Elliott warned that pedestrians could step off a bus and be “wiped out” by a bike passing between the bus and the footpath.
“The more outrageous this so-called trial is, the more community pushback there will be … there’s going to be a big impact. So in some ways, thank you for making the concept even worse,” she said.
The project will proceed as a trial for two years, with the council saying there will be regular monitoring and room for adjustments if safety issues arise.
Councillors also voted to explore legal options to recover $170,000 in state government funding that was withdrawn from the project last year.
At the time, Transport Minister Eric Abetz cited “considerable concern in the community” as the reason for the funding withdrawal, a move many hailed as one of the state government’s smartest decisions to date.
But Councillor Mike Dutta said recent community feedback showed support for the revised plan and that the money should be reinstated.
“All what I’m saying, either we write to the minister, either we put this forward or we have to beg and go down on our knees and say, ‘Please, can you give back the $170,000?’” he said.
“If it’s going to cost us to pay a legal adviser for $10,000 or $20,000, we’ll be still better off $150,000 if the advice is yes, we can pursue this. So from an economic point of view, we’ll be in a better position.”
When Pulse asked the state government whether it would consider reinstating the funds, a spokesperson offered a one-word response: “No.”
The trial is expected to be fully rolled out in the coming months.
The plan was supported by councillors Mike Dutta, Ryan Posselt, Gemma Kitsos, Ben Lohberger, Bill Harvey, Zelinda Sherlock and Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds.
Councillors John Kelly, Louise Elliott, Marti Zucco, Louise Bloomfield and Will Coates voted against.
