Anna Reynolds wants government to better fund fading line markings which worry drivers

Hobart’s Lord Mayor says for some ratepayers all that matters is line markings. YOUR SAY: Where’s the most faded road lines?

Road line markings around Hobart city. Lines are barely visible in some patches on the Brooker Highway near the intersection of Macquarie Street.

Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds is imploring the state government to better fund line marking on local roads saying it is a major concern for ratepayers.

The government says it provides $618,000 a year to the state’s councils for their line marking.

However, Ms Reynolds said the budget had been “cut in half from a decade ago” and the Hobart City Council received only $15,000 from the state pool for line markings.

“This is simply not enough for a place that’s home to 10 per cent of the Tasmanian population and a huge volume of traffic from around the state that wears away at the road markings,” she said.

“(After) almost anything council does I will get comments saying, ‘why are you doing that when you can’t fix the lines on the road’.

“For some people it seems, while we have faded line markings, nothing else matters.

“There is rationale behind having it co-ordinated by the state government but the system just seems to have broken down and is not working for the local government sector in the last few years and certainly not for drivers.

“We have to fix it.”

Road line markings around Hobart city. Fading lines near the intersection of Macquarie Street and the Brooker Highway.

Ms Reynolds said the current state funding allocation was inadequate to meet safety requirements.

She said a 2015 audit showed $860,000 was budgeted annually but she believed it was now just $450,000 when council needed $1.5m over three years and $250,000 a year thereafter.

“A state co-ordinated line markings program funded by the Road Safety Fund, paid for from people’s car registration, has traditionally been the way line markings are refreshed in Tasmania,” Ms Reynolds said.

Lord Mayor of Hobart, Anna Reynolds. Picture: Linda Higginson.

A government spokesperson said responsibility for line marking “sits with the relevant road owner, be that either the state on the state road network or a council on their local roads”.

“The Tasmanian government provides support through the Road Safety Levy to support councils for their line marking obligations – and has done since the inception of the levy in 2007 – to the sum of $618,000 annually,” he said.

“Local governments can also submit applications under the Safer Rural Roads Program and the Vulnerable Road Users Program for line marking.

“The Tasmanian government will continue to support councils to deliver their important responsibility to all road users.

“By working together we can achieve a strong forward plan that delivers best value-for-money for councils.”

The council has asked its CEO to include funding in the 2025/26 draft budget for a multi-year line marking renewal program to restore City of Hobart roads to national standards.

It also will propose a motion at the next Local Government Association of Tasmania meeting, calling on the state government to increase funding for line marking on local government roads to meet safe operating standards.

YOUR SAY: What roads across Hobart has the most faded lines? Join the conversation in the comments below.

Originally published as Anna Reynolds wants government to better fund fading line markings which worry drivers