Transforming Collins Street

Protected bicycle lanes will be installed in both traffic directions alongside the kerb and gutter for the length of the street.

Three on-street parks and 22 metres of loading zone will be retained on the northern side of the street (within the vicinity of the Tasmanian Wine Centre).

Five on-street parks will be retained on the southern side of the street (within the vicinity of Hyundai Hobart Motors).

Protected bicycle lanes will be installed in both traffic directions alongside the kerb and gutter for the length of the street.

Six on-street parks, one accessible parking space and 12 metres of loading zone will be retained on the northern side of the street (within the vicinity of 175 Collins Street).

Nine on-street parks, one accessible parking space and 12 metres of five-minute parking will be retained on the southern side of the street (within the vicinities of 200 Collins Street and 188 Collins Street).

Deck space for on-street dining will be installed on the northern side of the street for use by local hospitality businesses.

The exact design of the on-street dining is currently being developed in conjunction with traders.

A zebra crossing will be installed at the intersection of Collins Street and Victoria Street.

All current on-street parks will be retained on the southern side of the street.

Following a council resolution in November 2024, the project in this area has been paused to allow for further street design possibilities to be workshopped with businesses and other stakeholders in this block.

In February, the City of Hobart held dedicated workshops with these businesses and stakeholders to determine the final design.

A report with options along this stretch of the street will be provided to the city's elected members following this consultation. This is anticipated to occur in March 2025.

All cities change over time and the City of Hobart is working hard to create vibrant, safe linkages between the key areas across our city.

In recent years, the City has significantly upgraded the waterfront area, helped to transform Liverpool Street into a business and street dining hub, and installed a new pedestrian and cycle bridge connecting the city to the University Rose Garden and the Queens Domain.

The area around Collins Street has recently become the subject of significant, medium-density development proposals.

The recently adopted Central Hobart Plan has identified the need to support this growth by improving linkages to the CBD and natural areas like the Hobart Rivulet, as well as improving the general amenity of the area with street-side dining and additional greening.

Giving people greater options in how they move along Collins Street, including by bike and on foot, is also important, and our designs are aimed at ensuring people have safe and efficient routes with some streets being prioritised for specific modes of transport.

A lower speed environment, streetside dining, a new pedestrian crossing and street greening will create a more comfortable, inviting environment for people walking and spending time on Collins Street, which is good for business and good for our city.

Improving the amenity of Collins Street for pedestrians, cyclists and businesses has been a long-term vision for the City of Hobart, with the ambition outlined in various plans and strategies over the past two decades.

The street was identified as a future arterial cycleway in the Hobart Regional Arterial Bicycle Network 2009.

Plans to improve active travel along Collins Street were then highlighted in the 2011 Hobart Rivulet Park Strategic Master Plan.

In 2012, linking the rivulet to the CBD through Collins Street was listed as a "priority project" in the Inner City Action Plan.

The need to strengthen Collins Street for walking and cycling, to support medium-density development, was then identified in the Central Hobart Plan in 2023.

Off the back of this strategic planning, a concept plan for the tactical trial was produced before eventually being presented and endorsed at the Council Meeting on 27 May 2024.

The City of Hobart engaged with business owners along Collins Street and, because of feedback, made multiple changes to the proposed design to retain more car parks and loading zones.

The updated design was presented before Hobart City Council at the Council Meeting on 16 September 2024, with councillors endorsing the two-year trial.

The Tasmanian Government then withdrew its commitment to help fund the project, causing the Hobart City Council to resolve to use project contingency funds to cover the funding shortfall at the Council Meeting on 14 October 2024. The project appeared before the councillors again at the Council Meeting on 11 November 2024, where it was resolved that the project would be paused between Victoria and Murray St to explore options to "retain loading zone and parking opportunities".

Roughly 25 on-street parking spots, four accessible parking spots, and multiple loading zones will be retained directly on Collins Street.

There are also about 1400 public parking spaces within the immediate vicinity of Collins Street, so this project will result in a 2 per cent reduction to public parking in the area.

There are five side streets which come off Collins Street (Molle, Barrack, Harrington, Victoria and Murray) which have roughly 150 on-street car parks within one block of the project area.

There are also over 100 spaces, including eight accessible parking spaces, in the Village Cinemas car park on Collins Street.

The City of Hobart operated Centrepoint Car Park next to Collins Street also has 780 car parks and is rarely at full occupancy.

The Greater Hobart Household Travel Survey 2023, conducted by the Tasmanian Government, showed there is a rising number of cyclists in Hobart.

It found there were 4800 trips completed on bikes within the City of Hobart local government area each day (a 50 per cent increase since 2019).

Hobartians riding bikes is good for their health and good for motorists, as it results in less cars on the road and helps traffic flow better.

We know the number one barrier to more people taking up cycling or any form of active transport is safety, something which separated cycle lanes will help address.

We will make regular updates to this webpage and directly to our project mailing list at key milestones:

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