HOBART AIRPORT CONNECTIONS

Together we can make it easier to ride to and from Hobart Airport

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The problem

Riders arriving or departing from Hobart Airport do not have safe, clear routes to the city centre.

The current route is on back roads that are not signed or riders are forced onto the highway.  

Cycle tourism is a growing sector of Tasmania’s  important visitor economy but Hobart Airport has poor facilities for travelling cyclists. 

On arrival, there is a basic bike assembly point, without weather cover opposite the arrival hall. There is no information provided for cycle tourists such as: signage towards the bike assembly area, availability of bike transport boxes, transport options, costs, and safe routes to and from the airport. 

There are major gaps in the bike paths connecting the airport to the city of Hobart.

Tourists arriving with their bikes are regularly found riding along the Tasman Highway, a high speed arterial with a narrow verge, and have even been seen riding across the Tasman Bridge, having missed the opportunity to transfer onto the shared path on the bridge.

This is very dangerous and scary for visitors.  A safe and well-communicated access route between the city centre and the airport is well overdue. 

Bicycle Network Tasmania has developed a guided bike map for riders to assist them in riding safely to the city.

The state government is conducting a redesign of the roundabout at the turnoff to the airport – it will become an interchange, adding lanes and connectors to improve traffic flow.

The increase in traffic volumes and average speeds will make this intersection and the connections both to the city and to Sorell even more dangerous for bike riders unless protected bikelanes are included in the redesign.

The solution

Clarence Council and the state government need to build cycling infrastructure along the route.

The proposed safe bike connection includes a combination of onroad bikelanes and separated bikepaths. 

The currently missing sections are:

  • Airport to Tasman Highway roundabout
  • Tasman Highway interchange
  • Cambridge to Pass Road, Mornington
  • Underpass at the Mornington roundabout
  • Separated path from Mornington roundabout to Rosny Hill Rd

The Airport–Tasman Bridge riding connection is listed in:

CURRENT STATUS

  • The state government’s South East Traffic Solution project will build a shared path between the airport and Sorell, with first sections finished in 2022.
  • The Hobart to Sorrell planning study was released in late 2020 and recommended a shared path along the Tasman Hwy from the Mornington roundabout.
  • In 2019 the state government started a planning study into the corridor between Hobart and Sorrell which includes the route from the city to the airport. 
  • At April 2018, a copy of the plans for the airport interchange can be viewed on the Department of State Growth website. Cycling South made a submission which included details on how to incorporate bike lanes into the project, including managing conflict points, as well as providing a footpath between Holyman Ave and Kennedy Drive.
  • A narrow footpath has recently been added to the airport road, in response to a public campaign in 2017. This path is only wide enough for pedestrians.
  • Clarence Council and Department of State Growth are developing a signage package to help riders find the recommended route into the city. The signs have not yet been agreed on.

Take action

Collective action makes a difference. Join the campaign – together we can work for better cycling infrastructure to the airport. 

Here’s a few easy ways you can help.

Contact aldermen & MPs

Contact the Clarence City Council aldermen and state and federal MPs to let them know the route is important.

Contacts

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Join us as a member and help make our voice in Tasmania even stronger.

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