Bicycle Network: Metro Routes

Hobart Council approves Sandy Bay Rd bike lanes 10-2

12 June 2013 - After seven years of  deliberation, Hobart Council last night voted 10-2 to proceed with the Sandy Bay Walking and Cycling Project. The plan will see on-road bike lanes on Sandy Bay road from Marieville Esplanade to Long Point Rd near Sandown Rd with a section of shared path in the north past the University of Tasmania and the Wrest Point Casino. 

Lord Mayor Damon Thomas described the vote as a milestone. "Tonight's decision will take the majority with us", he told the local Mercury.

Emma Pharo from Bicycle Tasmania said. “This is a welcome step forward from Council. We are thankful that the project is finally progressing and look forward to riding the new lanes and ongoing improvements to both Sandy Bay Road and the city's cycling network”

The vote followed on from a successful Bike Futures seminar in the week beforehand attended by aldermen including the Lord Mayor Alderman Damon Thomas.  The bike lanes will enable people to ride to a numerous destinations along the road including the University of Tasmania and Wrest Point Casino (a punt and a pedal anyone?).  The $1.2 million plan includes an off road path for the first section past Wrest Point casino and the university which will eventually connect, via an off-road path around Battery Point, to Salamanca Place, the central business district and the Intercity Cycleway to the north. The remainder of the route to the south will be on-road lanes with coloured pavement across intersections. The on-road lanes are not the fully separated lanes that would suit a wider range of potential riders, they are a big step forward for cycling and allows the council to proceed with the project while building ridership and community support.

Sandy Bay plan cops kicking

30 Aug 2010.  The anti bike path brigade have emerged again, this time in Hobart, where moves are afoot to block the proposed Sandy Bay walking and cycling project.

Support for the lanes is strong, but so is the opposition.

To ensure this plan is realised riders should write to the Lord Mayor of Hobart in support of the Sandy Bay walking and cycling project.

Healthy Transport Hobart has a useful summary of what riders are doing and what the ‘antis’ are saying. The antis have reportedly collected a petition with 500 signatures. Fortunately your views on the on-line form will carry more weight than dozens of signatures on a petition.

If you don’t know the project you can check out the Council documents which are models of clear communication. They have described the thinking and consultation behind the project in this document and the five sections in this one. This is the link to the City of Hobart website page on Sandy Bay.

The plan is to use five well-tested ‘tools’ to link Marieville Esplanade at the Sandy Bay rivulet to the existing bike lanes through Taroona. The two-way cyclepath is the only ‘tool’ that hasn’t been used in Hobart previously. These two-way paths form the backbones of the Montreal, Paris and the emerging Sydney networks.

This link will take you to the on-line feedback form.

Please write today.