Hobart needs a balanced and realistic transport strategy

Hobart City Council recently approved its Transport Strategy, narrowly passing by one vote. The reasons behind the lack of unanimous support is worth exploring given the impact this plan will have on our city.

As one of the dissenters, the lack of relevant and reliable evidence underpinning the strategy was a key concern, along with multiple situations where the solutions for ‘problems’ are illogical, conflict with reality, or are too broad to sign off with confidence.

The strategy is unsurprisingly anti-car and presents a utopia that walking, scooting and riding is the easy fix for those near and far, young and old. It also relies on an impressive public transport network which does not exist and isn’t in our foreseeable future as we simply do not have the economies of scale needed to make a comprehensive and efficient system viable.

The strategy attempts to transplant findings from Europe and other cities ten times our size and expects them the work.  For example, evidence is drawn from Brisbane, Barcelona, Berlin and Copenhagen, while Hobart data remains on the to-do-list. The statement is made that people who ride, walk or catch the bus will “walk for longer, visit more locations and, of course, spend more.” I welcome local evidence to support this as it is contrary to my own experience and that of many others I’ve spoken to and lack of local evidence is a dealbreaker as lives and livelihoods are at stake.

I’ll also never sign a blank cheque by putting my name to broad commitments such “creating a city for walking, bike riding and public transport…”. This nervousness is amplified given the extreme plan for Collins Street that will remove 59 on-street car parks to make way for bike lanes on both sides of the street that will realistically sit empty for 18 hours a day. Similarly, signing off that “many streets will need to have reduced private vehicle capacity” sits uncomfortably, with obvious questions left unanswered.

When it comes to logic and assumptions, the strategy acknowledges that Tasmania has the oldest population in the country, with over a quarter aged over 65. Despite this, the proposed solution for our ageing population is “more mobility options”. While increasing the coverage, affordability and reliability of public transport is very welcome, especially for older people who are no longer able to drive, it is absurd to think that the older people get, the more they’ll be riding and scooting when many can barely walk.

The document also owns the fact that Greater Hobart has the highest rate of vehicle trips by car of all Australian capital cities (per capita) and that car ownership is set to continue growing by around two per cent each year. Hobart is also recognised as a major employment and recreational centre, where over 65 per cent of people working in the city travel in from another local government area each day.  Notwithstanding these acknowledgements, the plan is not in any way ‘friendly’ to car users, which – like it or not – represents most of us.  

The strategy argues that driving is most convenient because there has been a “disproportionate investment in car infrastructure, road space and parking space”. I disagree; many people must drive because there is no realistic alternative and for most people, stripping parking and car access for bike lanes will not change that. The strategy also strays into giving lifestyle and financial advice by saying that people should “avoid a second car” and that people should ride, catch the bus, or car share to help the family budget. I believe the Council’s role is to support the community, not lecture them.

Naturally, the usual arguments of climate, physical and mental health and happiness are put forward as justifications for pushing out cars, but there’s silence on the fact that Australia represents only one per cent of global emissions and a handful more bike Hobart riders isn’t going to change that. Arguing that replacing roads and parking with bike lanes is good for our health is only true if they’re used and with the Council unable to say what increase in riders existing bike lanes have generated, why would we sign up for more of the same? And for many, no car means, no visit and that means more isolation. 

Hobart needs a balanced and realistic transport strategy. Yes, safer walking, riding and scooting need supporting, as do our businesses and thousands of people who need to access the employment, opportunities and services our city provides. Our actions should be based on what will work and makes sense for Hobart. We need a city that is genuinely welcoming and inclusive for all, regardless of how they need to travel.