The City of Hobart continues to transform public spaces to
revitalise Hobart’s city centre.
As a part of its commitment to improve public spaces in the
centre of Hobart, the Hobart City Council has in 2016 and 2017 rebuilt and
widened the footpaths and spaces on Morrison Street and on the southern side of
Salamanca Place (between Gladstone Street and Montpelier Retreat).
A concept plan has been prepared for a $3.5 million project to
improve safety and provide a more enjoyable experience for pedestrians moving
through the Salamanca Place area.
The
next part of these planned works focuses on improving the pedestrian
connections between Salamanca Place and the Hobart CBD, and the upgrading of
the public spaces in the Salamanca Lawns themselves.
The main ongoing concerns that are hoped to be addressed by the planned project are:
- To improve the pedestrian crossing across Montpelier Retreat for pedestrians walking along the Salamanca Place footpath (the pedestrian crossing from ‘The Whaler’ to ‘Retro’;
- To simplify the complicated areas of roads and grassed areas where Morrison Street meets Castray Esplanade and Gladstone Street, and to provide high quality pedestrian connections through this space between the Salamanca Place footpath, the Salamanca Lawns, the Princes Wharf event space, the Hobart Waterfront, the Parliamentary Lawns, and the CBD via Murray Street and Morrison Street.
- To make walking through this area feel safe and comfortable for people with disabilities.
- To reduce the number of people ‘tripping’ and hurting themselves during the Salamanca Market and special events such as the ‘Taste of Tasmania’ by reducing the number of level changes, and to make spaces that can be better and easier used for these events.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The
final report was presented and approved by the Council at its meeting held on 9th
July 2018, prior being presented to the City Infrastructure Committee meeting
on 20th June 2018.
If
you wish to read the report, it can be viewed via the link below (Item 6.3).
City
Infrastructure Committee Agenda – 20th June 2018
The project is expected to start in
February 2019 and will be delivered in stages over the next three years.
Some of the main changes include:
- Closing
the existing southbound one-way road that runs from Morrison Street to
Montpelier Retreat through the Salamanca Lawns, and rebuilding the flat
area of the Salamanca Lawns to make it suitable for multiple purposes such
as car parking or Salamanca Market’s special events;
- Making the existing curved two-lane, one-way
road connecting Gladstone Street to Morrison Street a two-way road for
motorists driving between Morrison Street and Salamanca Place;
- Rebuilding the intersection of Salamanca Place
and Montpelier Retreat, and the footpath on Salamanca Place between Montpelier
Retreat and Kennedy Lane to make walking through this area feel more safe and
comfortable;
- Installing five ‘zebra’ crossings to give pedestrians priority over vehicles at important pedestrian crossing points.
There would be no change in the number of
car parking spaces and none of the trees that are heritage-listed or on the
Significant Tree Register would be effected. Nine small trees are planned to be
removed and replaced with five more appropriate trees.
