The City of Hobart has released a one-year review of the cycling infrastructure on Campbell and Argyle streets, recommending the lanes become permanent.
Counters on the lanes have recorded more than 6000 bicycle trips a month and there have been no reported bicycle crashes since they were installed.
The Campbell Street cycleway opened in May 2024, the Argyle Street treatment in July 2024, the Bathurst Street Cycleway in December 2024 and Liverpool Street cycleway in January 2025, triggering the one-year review period.
Apart from drivers not obeying parking rules during clearway times and the lack of a willing tow truck driver to remove cars, the council has not reported any other problems.
Traffic congestion has not noticeably increased and after some initial confusion drivers are now obeying the changed light conditions at Campbell and Liverpool streets.
Bicycle Network made a submission to the review applauding the changes but also pointing out ongoing design flaws.
The most obvious is that the bike lanes on Campbell Street and Argyle Street are too narrow when next to parked cars. The council should aim to reconfigure the space to ensure there’s adequate width in the bike lane and the buffer between parked cars.
The slip lane setup next to the hospital is not desirable and should be converted to match the rest of the street and the surface on the lower end of Campbell Street should be fixed where it’s very rough.
The left-hand side positioning of the Bathurst Street lane does not make sense when most riders are heading for the Rose Garden Bridge or Campbell Street lanes. This should ideally be moved to the right-hand side, especially as there are no plans to extend it further down Bathurst Street.
The council will consider the review report at a workshop to be held on Monday 19 January at 4 pm at Town Hall. We’ll keep you updated about their decision.