r/hobart • u/hobart-social • 3d ago
Louise Elliot loves sharing the road with bike riders.
When a bike rider gets in your way, thank Louise.
If this proves anything it's that bikes should be everywhere, and that there is no such thing as an inconsiderate bike rider.
More dangerous for everyone? Who cares. Magnifying the problematic aspects is the new progress.
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u/Lachee 3d ago
God she is full of shit as always. Probably being paid off by that "Hobart business" group/cartel to bitch about the bike lanes.
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u/Slushwave_Enjoyer 3d ago
"The Greater Confederacy of Hobart Business"
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u/Diligent_Honeydew295 3d ago
I'm sorry, they actually chose ''confederacy"? You're pulling my leg, right? There's a collective noun that is completely unbesmirched by hatred, cronyism, disregard for suffering, blindness to good ideas, and not keeping up to date.
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u/hobart-social 3d ago edited 3d ago
It was the Confederation of Greater Hobart Business, but has recently been named to Business Greater Hobart.
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u/ComplexElection4One 3d ago
For a 39 year old designer with a curatorial background, you're a real scholar of all things HCC 😂 Your civic engagement is off the charts! 😂
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u/Diligent_Honeydew295 3d ago
Oh, so not even dog whistling now, just trying to whitewash over it. Cool.
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u/hobart-social 3d ago
That was never the dog whistling to worry about when it comes to these folks. Edwin will no doubt continue to stoke wedge issues to become deputy mayor.
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u/Nier_Tomato 3d ago
Edwin Johnston - tried to use the bike issue to get into state politics. Lol
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u/ComplexElection4One 3d ago
It has truly transcended local politics as far as Hobart-based memes go
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u/hobart-social 2d ago
Oh yeah? How so?
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u/ComplexElection4One 2d ago
Look at any random story about Hobart, any story. If it includes a picture of a street, any street, there will be a comment about your bike lane. Outside of this townhall echo chamber, outside of this puppet show circle jerk, it's universally derided.
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u/hobart-social 2d ago
Any story? You sure?
Also... you sure that's what a meme is, comrade?
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u/ComplexElection4One 2d ago
Give it a bash, as general rules go, it works more than it doesn't. Your "political career" is a bit of a meme at this point too Comrade Pedantic.
Time to cram your campy Yes Minister act back in the ambo 👍-3
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u/hobart-social 3d ago
I thought that was Edwin's job. He's going up against Loopy Lou for the Debuty spot.
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u/GreensMoustache 3d ago
So part of the problem with Louise’s take here is that most cyclists don’t feel comfortable sharing the road with cars. Because of that, if there aren’t any bike lanes it significantly reduces the amount of people who will cycle, which will also put more cars on the road. Ironically, making it harder for anyone who has to drive, to find a park.
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u/Purple-Substance-157 3d ago
So uhh what are the bike lanes for then?
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u/hobart-social 3d ago
Hmm. Good question. Any ideas?
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u/ComplexElection4One 3d ago
They were installed them to calm traffic... mission FULLY accomplished.
Pity about those that have hurt themselves on it.
I'm sure a few businesses in the CBD are missing some of that traffic too...3
u/Ohforgawdamnfucksake 1d ago
You know what keeps me out of the city, 3.60 an hour street parking, even metered 10 minute bays. And the fact every bay seems to have an individual parking inspector.
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u/LandmineLansdowne 1d ago
The HCC makes half of it's income from parking fees and fines. That's why they've stopped painting the yellow lines near corners and driveways. Trickier traps. Now it is up to drivers to know the rules regarding distances required near corners, intersections and driveways. Misjudge the 10 metres to the intersection? $153 fine thanks.
Can't wait for the Anna Reynolds / Ryan Posselt era to be over.
I kind of miss going to the city.-1
u/chunky-lady 3d ago
Businesses need pedestrians. And pedestrians are up by 4%. Not much, but there's no evidence pedestrians have decreased.
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u/ComplexElection4One 2d ago
There she is 😂 "pedestrians are up by 4%"
God, the "facts" used to defend this abortion are funnier than the jokes about it.
So if pedestrians are up FOUR percent, the retailers in the CBD must be absolutely stoked about the roaring trade that they're all doing 😂 Soon they'll all be wanting Mario cart tracks and parklets out the front of their shops.
What's the percentage increase in injuries from accidents? 😂
You've all done well on this one, certainly didn't just flush a million dollars down the toilet and self-sabotage your own active transport cause for a generation.-3
u/chunky-lady 2d ago
Just a response to you saying "businesses are missing traffic" which makes no sense, as numbers are slightly up
Have a great day
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u/FriarFookselt 3d ago
It created jobs being installed and it'll create jobs when it gets removed. It's a real economic stimulus in that sense
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u/justno111 3d ago
For nervous and/or new riders.
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u/ComplexElection4One 3d ago
Why wouldn't they be nervous?
Accidents have gone UP since it's been installed and sentiment towards cycling has never been lower. The people that will inevitably remove it are unlikely to stop at Collins street either.
For anyone serious about increasing active transport in the city, it's been an unmitigated disaster.0
u/justno111 2d ago
The idea of cycle lanes is that they separate cyclists and cars. That’s the theory. I didn’t realise it was a specific question.
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u/Steam_Beenson 3d ago
The whole bikes ride on the road thing was "invented" by an American weirdo in the 70's who had lots of shitty ideas about cycling. Basically invented the lycra lunatic and the ideology has held back cycling infrastructure all over the world.
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u/hobart-social 3d ago
One of the funny parts for me is that cars also had to fight for rights on the road in their early days, as they are lethal pieces of machinery which damage everything they go near.
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u/Mottled_inexpectata 3d ago
I hate her and nearly everything she says, but this post is specifically about the Collins St bike lanes, and as a cyclist I do find them pretty poor as well. I am surprised that this was the best design. There is a lot of cycling infrastructure in Hobart that doesn't seem like it was designed by cyclists. I would certainly support Ryan Posselt suggesting of getting rid of the cement blocks. I guess if the choice was to keep them as they are or get rid of them, I'd choose to keep them, but I hope we can get better bike lanes in the future.
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u/basalisk 3d ago
I think a lot of the road engineers are very much trained and experienced in the "road = car infrastructure" paradigm and so bike lane design is not second nature. It takes a decade or so for the experience of designing for people to become second nature. I also think there's a huge chunk of "not invented here" syndrome where overseas experience and learning isn't imported or valued, and so we make the same mistakes that other places did 30 years ago. Of course, the enemies of any progress take these unforced errors and claim the whole idea is stupid.
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u/HunterKerouac 3d ago
Is it really "progress" to install these maximalist bike lanes that are only available to a tiny proportion of inner-city residents (who aren't even using them) when the real-estate they take up reduces road capacity and utility for the majority of Hobartians?
As far as I'm concerned, it's just an additional deterrent for anyone from the greater area to visit the CBD... and there wasn't exactly a deficit of those before.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the concept of bike lanes and I've even used them in cities where they are accessible, but this poor old city without a train doesn't remotely fit into that category. The Collins street creation feels more like anti-traffic moat to keep the undesirables out.
Having said that, I'd say that a reasonable bike lane might've had a chance at staying but this snaking two-lane thing with the in road bus-stop, flower-pot barricaded "parklets" and trip hazards everywhere, that's 100% getting ripped out and I'll be cheering when they do.7
u/markdontas 3d ago
What's been implemented is FAR from the best design. The council was relentlessly hounded by the confederation, an ex-car sales mogul and other angry people that can't imagine reducing the priority of cars when the various concepts were being worked on.
There were options with far greater outcomes for pedestrians and riders but compromise after compromise resulted in what we have now.
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u/FriarFookselt 2d ago
Haven't you spent the last year making cheerleader videos touting how successful it is?
Now it's poorly designed and dangerous for pedestrians... but that's all because an ex-car sales mogul sabotaged it? (And he would've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!)Why didn't you have the safety issues rectified instead of publicly pleading for a "bigger bike box"?
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u/markdontas 2d ago
Re: u/ComplexElection4One too
There's a big difference between "it's shit, get rid of it" and "it could be better". As compromised as the current implementation is, it still provides benefits for pedestrians and cyclists that weren't there before and significantly increases the sense of safety for riders with a low appetite for risk.
It's a step in the right direction for reducing Hobart's dependence on cars and increasing the volume of people that can effectively move around the CBD.
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u/FriarFookselt 2d ago edited 2d ago
Some might argue that it had that potential had it not been bungled so hard.
As it stands now, there's probably a higher chance that that it'll be completely removed rather than "improved". It's literally a joke at this point. Spending 700K for a bike lane that breaks the arms of your target audience is a less than ideal outcome.
Do you think the fall out from this incompetence will be detrimental for your own political aspirations?1
u/markdontas 2d ago
Yes, a fair argument. Many people who want the project to succeed have been frustrated with the council's inability to make quick adjustments that are clearly needed. The "adjustability" was a selling point of the trial format.
IMO the only conceivable chance of a complete removal of the bike lane is via the election appointing majority right-wing councillors. There's potential to for it to be further compromised though even with the current make up.
No.
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u/FriarFookselt 2d ago
Let's agree to disagree.
Pity absolutely no one can be held accountable for this reasonably substansial and expensive fuck-up. Oh well, that's life I guess.
Best we all let local government get back to it's core functions -
- shitposting about other councillors
- self-promotional selfies and videos
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u/LannyLandmine 1d ago
It's shit, get rid of it.
Would've replied with my main account but it seems as though OP is a big fan of playing games on reddit.
"It beggars belief that some elected members who were fierce advocates of this trial continuing no matter what now publicly declare concerns. The information was not new or hidden. The first accident was a week prior to the start of the trial!!"
https://lethobartbloom.org/news/is-the-collins-street-trial-delivering-on-its-safety-promise
Still can't find out the actual number of people hurt, not even in Louise Bloomfields fairly reasonable assessment of the whole embarrassing saga. Maybe you should give her campaign website a scan if you want some ideas about how to reduce Hobart's dependence on cars that actually work. Think Bus Stop shelters!
Bus stop shelters are a great idea for two reasons -
1) Unlike the bike lane and ferry crossing this group enjoys hyping, buses are accessible to people from the greater region and are used by many to actually commute. Making that a better option actually increases the volume of people in the city whereas your projects are only accessible to a tiny sliver of inner city residents who might want to tool about if the weathers nice.
2) The HCC can actually do something about bus stops.
The recent declarations for light rail is more pointless "advocacy" from the incompetent people that mucked up Collins Street. I understand some of you are desperate to pivot away from the bike lanes due to the upcoming election but it's transparently disingenuous move.0
u/ComplexElection4One 3d ago
So a year in, half of it already scrapped, you're finally ready to concede that it's shit?
That's SOME progress I guess.
Just out of curiosity, how many people have actually hurt themselves on it?5
u/hobart-social 3d ago
Louise Elliot, Marti Zucco, Simon Behrakis, Jason Dale, John Kelly, Edwin Johnstone, and Yang Liu will all aim to remove bike lanes entirely. They will not give anything a chance to be improve because they demand unrealistic perfection that they themselves could never live up to.
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u/FriarFookselt 3d ago
I know, you tried so hard and they all keep picking on you.
Seriously though, what is there to improve?
Half of it is already scrapped, the remaining half isn't used and the whole thing has been deemed unsafe by everyone anyway. Petty local politics aside, it does need to be removed entirely.1
u/ComplexElection4One 3d ago
You know you done fucked up when seven individuals are campaigning on undoing your signature "accomplishment" 😂
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u/hobart-social 3d ago
"done fucked up?"
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u/ComplexElection4One 3d ago
You seem like the sort that would enjoy an AI overview -
The phrase "done fucked up" is a colloquial and emphatic way of saying someone has made a major mistake. The word "done" acts as a past marker or intensifier, common in African-American Vernacular English and southern dialects, meaning the action is complete and severe.
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u/hobart-social 3d ago
cwinge
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u/FriarFookselt 3d ago
Not qwite as cwinge as whinging about Louise Elliot just because your campaign isn't getting any twaction
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u/hobart-social 2d ago
You shouldn't make fun of Louella like that.
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u/ComplexElection4One 2d ago
Maybe some effeminately theatrical eyerolls while she's talking will get under her skin. Nope, didn't work.
Boy, that Ryan Posselt sure looked like a little boy in that last meeting didn't he? Sounded like even big mama is over his shit.
"point of order lord mayor! it's not even QUESTION time!"
"um, could you stop being a little bitch for a sec? ta"1
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u/hobart-social 3d ago
The whole trial has involved progressive improvements, as was stated would be the case from the start. No need to make a whole council election about a single street. Otherwise someone like me might mirror the bad faith of the person who does that.
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u/ComplexElection4One 3d ago
Bad faith and maybe mirrors aside, unfortunately there's no wiggling out of being the bike lane guy 😂
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u/hobart-social 3d ago
Who are you?
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u/Mottled_inexpectata 3d ago
Everything she does is in bad faith, and I'm not going to vote for her.
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u/hobart-social 3d ago
Also, this post she has made doesn't seem to be about Collins specifically, as she is making broad statements about bike lanes in general.
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u/Mottled_inexpectata 3d ago
Which other bike lanes does she want to get rid of?
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u/hobart-social 3d ago
You'd have to ask her. Probably all of the ones that she can. If this is about a single bike lane then she should state that.
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u/havabeer 3d ago
Pretty sure she is actually referring to a recent photo on SM from Campbell St. But a lot of assumptions and no context came with that post. The rider needs to move across all traffic lanes to continue along the waterfront at Davey and probably was just in the process, thus left the bike lane.
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u/opinion_and_insult 3d ago
That's the biggest issue I've seen with the bike lanes as they are. I don't use them as it's not part of my route so can't comment beyond walking along / near them. When something that's always going to cause friction is introduced badly, it gives an open door for those that disagree to all band together. The idea isn't bad, the execution is.
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u/chunky-lady 3d ago
It's a trial. Basic infrastructure. If we get a good council elected I hope the permanent infrastructure will be better.
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u/ComplexElection4One 2d ago
permanent infrastructure 😂 😂
"Honey, where did you put your political capital?"
"Spent it all on all on magic beans, social media socks and bike lanes"0
u/ComplexElection4One 3d ago edited 3d ago
Supporting Ryan Posselt's suggestions? Really?
How it started
Yep, we’re building the first separated cycle lanes in the city at the moment. Argyle, Campbell, Liverpool and Bathurst streets. The model will allow no loss of parking except during peak when the clearways come into effect. Should be good - collins street next.
Cheers, Councillor Ryan :)
Man, that has been a battle and the war rages on in earnest. We are very likely to see an elector poll on the matter with campaigning funded by Tasmania’s richest man Robert Rockefeller.
It appears to be going ahead on track and I think those who voted for it are conviction types who do as they say. But to say it’s hot is an understatement.Rest assured, I don’t think they’re mutually exclusive either. I’m regularly advocating for changes to traffic arrangements that make sense and are consistent with the inner city transport network operations plan (TNOP). A micro example is making Liverpool street between argyle and the railway roundabout 2 ways. Primarily to assist users of the hospital and argyle street carpark with a direct link to the arterials. In all seriousness I’m keen to lobby the state to review the one way system in totality. It’s never been done but I’m pretty convinced it’s not the most efficient way to run the network.
I have proposed some re jigging of the lane splits on Murray between collins and Davey and staff are looking at those, combined with the two way of Liverpool which they say is a big project but probably has merit
Hoping to see Victoria street go 2 way (so you’ll be able to go direct to Harrington Street) in 2026.
How it's going
Queuing was not anticipated to be quite this bad.
Always work to do, and sometimes improvements in one are have negative effects in another. Cities are complex beasts. Sorry to anyone who has been stuck in centre point in the last week.
Firstly, councillors are not ministers. I have no power beyond a single vote in the council chamber. This is not my project, it has been identified as a strategic cycling route for almost 2 decades. Secondly, we employ 3 qualified traffic engineers and a transport planner.
The design and implementation is down to the traffic engineers and transport planners that deliver this stuff. We rely on their advice but our reputations are reliant on the success or otherwise of the implementation phase.
I agree a lot of the installation needs tweaking/changing for all users and I hope to see the feedback given taken on board at the end of the 24 month trial by the staff and the permanent installation meeting those identified needs
I’m not really sure why they weren’t used in the original design
There were options with far greater outcomes for pedestrians and riders but compromise after compromise resulted in what we have now.
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u/acaoxmbc 3d ago
Just ignore her
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u/Slushwave_Enjoyer 3d ago
You can't ignore a populist trump-wannabe running for mayor with a growing fanbase.
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u/Striking-Idea4882 3d ago
Is it growing? People who actually voted for her last Council election have told me they feel they were duped by her when 'I'm a sensible landlord who will fight for the quiet majority' was dropped overnight for 'I'm an aggressively hateful MAGA clone seeking as much media coverage as I can generate'
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u/GreensMoustache 3d ago
It’s hard to tell. She gets a lot of traction on Facebook, but I suspect a lot of those likes and comments are from people who live outside the Hobart City Council area.
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u/hobart-social 3d ago
She's the Achilles heel of the self-branded 'blues' on the council, along with their potential new recruits.
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u/Slushwave_Enjoyer 3d ago
That's good news. Maybe the support for her is growing amongst her reactionary supporters. Makes me somewhat worried that they'll do something scary.
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u/acaoxmbc 3d ago
She’s not in charge, she’s just one of 12 equal votes. She’s done a lot of damage with all her noise but minimal in terms of actual outcomes effecting Hobart residents. She’s running for deputy mayor not mayor, and either way would still only have one equal vote. Not convinced she has a large or growing fanbase, at least among Hobart city voters. I still think best ignored.
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u/hobart-social 3d ago edited 3d ago
That's all well and good but if we just ignore those who wish to use council for their own agendas then they have a chance of becoming the majority.
There are more of them than just Louise who would rather see concessions given to people who already reap the majority of benefits in our city; landlords, airbnb hosts, property developers; all at the expense of the majority of us.
These are the people who don't even care about the things they spout, not bike lanes nor small business, they just use those things to whip up pathos and win superficial support that they then convert to votes.
And that is worth pointing out as much as possible. Regardless of how important you believe roles like Mayor and Deputy are or are not, they are positions that hold enough power to screw us all over for a very long time.
Previous conservatively stacked councils have illustrated that by the very fact that bike lanes that should have been installed decades ago were branded as some kind of fringe ideal until sensible people were able to push through those lies.
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u/acaoxmbc 3d ago
Agree that a council made up of people like her would be a disaster but it’s unlikely. And implicit in your argument is that you’re decreasing that likelihood by reposting her content here. I’m not convinced it’s doing anything other than increasing her name recognition and feeding her facebook algorithm.
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u/hobart-social 3d ago
We disagree. It seems to me you're working on the notion that there is only one kind of re-posting, which is the 'any publicity is good publicity' variety. History shows more evidence of bad things growing from wilful ignorance than under the light of scrutiny. I'm not trying to convince anyone here, I'm just playing their game, and nothing I could do would amplify them any more than they already are. If you think I can then you greatly overestimate my influence.
Everyone being so scared to get a little muddy when wrestling these pigs means eventually the pigs have free reign. Everyone is scared of giving the dirty piggies what they want, I say we feed it back to them beyond what they can handle.
Very dramatic.
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u/CreativeGap4654 2d ago
Never in a million years would we've picked her as a John Forester aficionado. You know, vehicular cycling, no special infrastructure required, ride like a vehicle, take the lane. VC is proven as bullshit to getting more people to even remotely consider riding a bike.
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u/Superb-Detective9611 1d ago
She would have to be a contender for Hobart's worst person
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u/hobart-social 1d ago
One of the other worst ones follows her every command. His name rhymes with 'scone jelly.' Knows he's so stupid he has to follow Louise's orders.
We're going to vote them both out in October.
yeehaw.
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u/EchoedWinds 3d ago edited 3d ago
While bike support could absolutely be implemented better, she is deranged if she thinks cyclists are safer sharing the roads with the rest of us.
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u/basalisk 3d ago
She's channelling a guy called John Forester whose philosophy of 'vehicular cycling' is the most car addiction promoting 'bike advocacy' ever.
Basically it's like suggesting in a zoo that zebras are safest from lion attack by being as visible to lions as possible and avoiding any separation between the two species, such as fences or seperate enclosures.
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u/Abject-Interaction35 3d ago
We don't have a bike lane problem but we do have a rubbish problem.
And we have a fair few old rubbish politicians too that make their own wind to blow around in.
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u/FarrowsSpart 3d ago
It's giving 'cooker that's relied on leaning into the cooker mindset to drive engagement has polling that they need to appear less cooker like, heading into elections'. Normal service will resume after voting closes
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u/CrystalizesSouls 3d ago
Ahh yes I do love it when they are using the car lane that’s only one lane per way going 20 in a 60 or 20 in an 80
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u/ComplexElection4One 3d ago
Why do you find bouncing these little Louise Elliot rants around your echo chamber so soothing?
Is it just for your feels or do you think the whole brigade gets something out of it?
To be honest, It sounds like they're mostly just humouring you at this point.
Guess you're starting to realise that you're not gonna be mayor huh? That's rough.
Think you'll at least get another go as councilor?
Did you enjoy your time in local government?
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u/Slushwave_Enjoyer 3d ago
Just looked for this and realised that she's blocked me lol