Sandy Bay property owners oppose Hobart City Council plans for new Derwent Ferry terminal
Property owners living near the proposed site of a new Derwent Ferry terminal at Sandy Bay have voiced their concerns about the project, saying they fear it will pose a safety risk.
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Property owners who live near the proposed site of a new Derwent Ferry terminal at Sandy Bay have voiced their concerns about the development, claiming it would pose a safety risk due to being located on an arterial road.
The Hobart City Council is seeking to build the terminal at Lords Beach on Sandy Bay Rd, opposite Waimea Ave, as the ferry network on the River Derwent expands beyond Bellerive and Brooke St Pier.
There are plans for a kiosk, toilets, bike storage, and charging infrastructure for e-bikes and e-scooters at the new terminal.
Following the closure of a public consultation process, nearby residents are expressing their frustration regarding the proposal, accusing the council of “taking shortcuts” in order to meet a Commonwealth-imposed construction deadline.
The Greater Hobart councils received $20m in funding from the Albanese government in 2022 to expand the Derwent Ferry service to three new terminals at Sandy Bay, Lindisfarne, and Wilkinsons Point.
A condition of the funding agreement is that the councils ensure the first three new terminals are completed by June 30, 2026.
Lorraine Sayers, who owns a property close to the Lords Beach site, said the council had not developed a business case for the terminal, nor assessed the “risks and associated dangers of locating a ferry terminal on a major arterial thoroughfare”.
“It appears that the [council], in its unseeing haste to access federal funding, is taking shortcuts on this project, and not fully assessing the impact of its Lords Beach decision,” she said.
“Safety is the major concern of locals.”
Ms Sayers also questioned the need for a kiosk and toilets as part of the development and noted a lack of parking in the area.
“Arterial roads typically have limited access points, yet a ferry terminal Lords Beach will introduce significant hazards with cars dropping off and picking up passengers, limited parking capacity, pedestrians crossing the road, and school buses picking up or dropping off children,” she said.
Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said the terminal at Lords Beach presented an opportunity to make the area safer for motorists and pedestrians.
“We have federal funding for the terminals but also there’ll be money available just to improve the access around and to the terminal so that can certainly include things like additional pedestrian crossings. So this is a kind of opportunity to make the area more pedestrian-friendly in a number of ways,” she said.
“I would anticipate that … having another way to get to Sandy Bay, and a really popular way to get to Sandy Bay, if the Bellerive ferry is an example to go by, will mean that there’ll be actually less traffic and less people parking in Sandy Bay.”
Since the Derwent Ferry service between Bellerive and Brooke St Pier was launched in 2021, more than 360,000 passengers have jumped on board.
The council will now assess recommendations and themes emerging from the community feedback phase before confirming the location and design of the Sandy Bay terminal.
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Originally published as Sandy Bay property owners oppose Hobart City Council plans for new Derwent Ferry terminal
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