The introduction of cycle lanes in Hobart’s CBD triggered a wave of complaints to the Hobart City Council, with residents and emergency services voicing concerns about the impact on accessibility and safety.
Among the complainants was a woman with mobility issues who, according to council records obtained by Pulse, was “close to tears” on the phone after sharing her struggles in parking near the Royal Hobart Hospital.
“She was extremely frustrated about not being able to find a park close to the hospital and believed the [Campbell Street] bike lanes caused greater issue,” the complaint from May outlined.
“She mentioned that [the council] was not concerned with helping her and her health and was more worried about providing a bike lane on the busy inner-city roads for the 10 bikes that use it.”
Tasmania Police were also documented as raising serious concerns about the new cycling infrastructure, saying it could hinder their response times to critical incidents.
A senior officer in the Southern District warned the council in the first month that further cycle lanes on busy city streets will “simply exacerbate traffic issues and has the potential to gridlock traffic”.
“This situation will severely impact the ability of police to respond to the community and potentially risk the health and safety of police officers requiring immediate assistance,” the officer wrote.
“Of particular concern is the potential impact upon police response to the community given the main exit point from Hobart City Police Station to respond across the city is via Bathurst Street onto Campbell Street.”
He said if the lanes were to continue, the council must remove any vehicles illegally parked “in a timely fashion”, something they later admitted they had not been doing.
“Whilst the issuing of an infringement notice to the offending car provides some penalty to the owner/driver, it does nothing to ease traffic congestion,” the officer said.
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The lack of parking enforcement was a common theme in complaints to the council, which were released to Pulse last month following a Right to Information request.
“I have zero doubt that people will die because of your bike lane. Minutes count,” one resident told the council.
“For what it’s worth, I haven’t seen a single person ever use that new bike lane … What I have seen though (multiple times per week) is ambulances and fire trucks being blocked by these closed lanes.”
Another person said reducing the lanes on Campbell Street from three to two during the day “has to be one of the most ridiculous decisions that has been made”.
“It was hard enough to get down there in peak hour before but now it’s a joke,” they said.
The City of Hobart responded to these concerns in July by extending clearway restrictions on Campbell Street between Macquarie Street and Davey Street.
City Futures Director Neil Noye at the time said the council had not been towing many vehicles breaking the rules due to a lack of a “reliable” towing operator.
“We have listened to the community’s concerns and are taking action to improve the situation,” he said.
“By implementing these ‘No Stopping’ restrictions, we aim to create a safer and more efficient road environment while we work on securing a reliable towing operator.”
