Last chance to comment on the draft Transport Strategy for Hobart

Did you know that the period for commenting on the Draft City of Hobart Transport Strategy 2018-2030 closes tomorrow?  You can find the document at the Your Say Hobart page, and you can enter your comments in the online form there.

WHEN has forwarded some feedback to the Council, on several aspects of the plan that relate to how we would like to see transport evolve in our neighbourhood.  Here are some of our comments:

It has been a generous consultation process.

We support the general directions and actions of the Strategy, in particular the stated hierarchy of transport modes, led by walking, cycling, public transport and lastly single occupancy cars.

40 km/h speed limits on residential roads is supported; this will make for safer access to the streets for everyone. 

In addition to this, we would like to see additional protection around schools, with speed limits in school zones set at 30 km/h, in line with trends interstate and overseas.  This will better support initiatives to help children to walk and ride to school.

We encourage Council to support the continued rollout of Ride2School and Safe Routes to School initiatives.  We also support strategies to make the road environment around schools safer, especially during the peak dropoff and pickup periods.  For example: establishing protected cycleways leading to schools; eliminating car parking close to schools (allowing “kiss and ride” zones some distance from the door).   

WHEN is very proud of its Walking West Hobart map and supports the idea of having equivalent maps developed for other neighbourhoods.

The Strategy identifies the development of a detailed bike plan. We think this needs to incorporate a “minimum grid” of safe separated cycleways on core routes, such as commuter routes into the CBD.  Safe cycling routes, whether separated or simply marked, will challenge the widespread practice of on-street parking for both residents and commuters walking into the city.

We welcome the City’s support of the Love Our Streets activities in West Hobart and elsewhere. This was a great example of a little corporate leadership providing a positive focus and some seed funds.  It resulted in the energising of usually disparate community groups to jointly create a series of inspiring community events.  We believe that ongoing and sustained community engagement really requires a sustained line of assistance from the first level of government.  It is a real way to give the Strategy ‘heart’.

We like community engagement models such as that used by the City of Yarra (also Portland Oregon and in New Zealand), which involve defining community areas and establishing an ongoing community forum in each of them.  Through these forums, people get to know each other, and Council initiatives and community ideas are discussed and developed, and the community feels greater ownership of the outcomes. 

We support the phasing out of fossil fueled vehicles. Council’s contribution could include developing a network of fast charging points.  The PlugShare App shows how few of these charging points are yet available in our municipality. These charge points could be operated by a commercial entity, with Council cooperating through providing access to power and communication infrastructure.