HEALTHY TRANSPORT HOBART

I’m the type of bicycle user who enjoys the finest high octane food to power my legs. And it just so happens that the fresher and better the food the faster I go (allegedly). So I trundled on down to the Farmers Market in the Melville St car park to A) see a carpark used for a much better purpose than the storage of cars and B) buy some food. And what a joy it was. I picked up 4 litres of Olive Oil grown out at Midway Point, some local bread, some apples, a vego pizza and a bundle of nice fresh veges. All fitted nicely in my Bob Trailer for the ride from town to Taroona. Last time I pushed my bike into a supermarket as a trolley replacement I was told to leave so I added not going into big supermarkets to my list of new years resolutions. Feels good to spend money on local stuff from the local ride in super market. Check it out: http://www.tasfarmgate.com.au/home.html Read the rest of this entry »

The great news for pedestrians and bicycle users in Hobart is that the Hobart City Council recommended 50km/hr blanket speed limits around the city. Not so great news is that the Department (DIER) and the RACT voted for several roads to remain 60km/hr. This is not good for a number of reasons, the most important being the level of injury inflicted on a vulnerable road user by a car at 60km/hr is far greater than at 50km/hr. The second reason of importance is that regular differences in speed limits reduce driver compliance to the lowest speed limit. Now its fair enough that the RACT kick up a fuss as they do have to make a stand for speeding drivers. But for DIER to do so is a bit silly considering the safety elements against them. Oh well. I look forward to a blanket reduction to 40km/hr like this speed limit on the bottom of Elizabeth St. The report in the Mercury can be read here: http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2010/08/05/163671_tasmania-news.html

Posted for the love of slow cars by Liam.C

I was pottering in the backyard when two Nepali lads rocked up in search of some new wheels last Sunday a little early for the regular Hobart Bike Kitchen Sunday Session. They’d both caught the bus from Glenorchy and needed a bit of a hand sizing up a couple of bikes for the ride home. The younger fella was suffering from ‘I want a bike that is way to big for me syndrome’ and the older fella had his eyes on some very average dual suspension numbers. A missing brake and a very warped front chain ring were tackled thanks to an anonymous regular who has the skills to fix such things.  Thankfully we were able to reach a compromise and send them off with a couple of nicely functioning mountain bikes and scraped some helmets from the bottom of the barrel. Rock on Hobart Bike Kitchen. Read the rest of this entry »

It seems that the newish bike lanes in Kingston have highlighted a need for change in the design if they are to be as long lasting as possible. All the lanes on corners around the cbd are being quickly worn away due to motorists cutting the cnrs. I think it might be worth investigating rumble strips as an alternative wherever corners are concerned. Not only would they last longer but people would not be able to so easily ignore the bike lanes. Read the rest of this entry »

Another fine and cold day for bike counters in Hobart for the mid winter count. And it was bloody freezing. Numb toes and hands were the highlight as well as 48 bikes whizzing past me at my count spot in Lower Sandy Bay. Other spots included King St/Regent St, Elizabeth/Bathurst St, Campbell/Bathurst, Argyle/Davey, Argyle/Burnett, Salamanca Esplanade, Molle/Collins, Augusta Rd/Elizabeth, Marieville Esplanade/Sandy Bay Rd, Macquarie/Murray, Channel highway/beach road kingston. If you have a count site you’d like to hang out at on the first tuesday of every month between 7 and 9 am please shoot me an email- healthytransporthobart@yahoo.com.au. Thanks to everyone who froze their fingers on tuesday. Read the rest of this entry »

So I read in the paper that 10 new busses had been added to the Kingston peak hour times and what great news it was. So with all this talk of the new Park and Ride Station in Kingston I thought I better ride over Bonnet Hill and check it out. Well, not a lot had changed. The carpark was no longer dirt but nice shiny new bitumen. Where were the signs leading me to the Carpark, the seats, the shelter, the lighting, the security cameras, the toilets, the bike racks? The bus timetable? Or the pedestrian crossing to the other side and traffic calming measures. I suppose I’ll have to put my patience hat on before I go on any further but the thing that really struck me was that the carpark was just about full with non of these basic amenities any park and ride should have. The capacity on a rough count was about 80 cars. The church across the road has more car park spaces for crying out loud. And just out of interest, when was the consultation with the community re what they’d like and where they’d like it? Read the rest of this entry »

Things are hotting up on Sandy Bay Road now the draft design from the first round of consultations last year has come out. As I ride Sandy Bay Road usually twice a day on my commute into Hobart I am very excited about this grand plan for making the road a safe place for people of all ages to walk and cycle. The detailed designs are on display at the Hobart City Council Headquarters and are worth a look if you ride/walk/drive this route and are interested in contributing to the final design. I wholeheartedly encourage everyone and anyone to put a positive submission into the HCC to combat the usual opposition residents attached to their car parks will no doubt launch. Good news for motorists as car travel time in peak periods will only drop between 30-40 seconds. Check out the HCC website for all the details: http://www.hobartcity.com.au/content/InternetWebsite/Home/Council_News/Sandy_Bay_Walking__Cycling_Project.aspx

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