Community backs Hobart City Council’s Collins St bike lane trial at rowdy public meeting

A public meeting forced by opponents of a Hobart City Council bike lane trial on Collins St has backfired on the organisers after supporters of the trial outnumbered them on the night.

Concept design of Collins St bike lane trial. Picture: Hobart City Council

Cyclists are celebrating a convincing win over the business lobby group opposed to the installation of bike lanes on Collins St after supporters of the trial vastly outnumbered the naysayers at a rowdy public meeting on Tuesday evening.

The Hobart City Council was forced to hold the meeting after the Confederation of Greater Hobart Business, chaired by Edwin Johnstone, collected 1000 signatures on a petition, foreshadowing a potential elector poll at ratepayers’ expense.

Contractors began early work on the Collins St project on Monday.

Confederation of Greater Hobart Business chair Edwin Johnstone addresses a public meeting on the Collins Street bike lane trial at City Hall in Hobart on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.

The council’s trial, dubbed Transforming Collins St, will see the removal of about 35 parking spaces, with all loading zones to be retained and two new accessible spaces to be established.

Streetside dining options will also be available between Harrington and Victoria streets.

Some business owners have heavily criticised the plan, fearing that a reduction in parking will result in less trade, while proponents of active transport say it will make the CBD a more attractive place to shop and encourage more people to safely ride bikes and walk.

About 900 people attended the public meeting at City Hall on Tuesday and people who supported the bike lanes overwhelmingly defeated all three motions moved by the opponents and endorsed a motion to back the Collins St trial.

The council is not bound to act on any of the motions.

Bicycle Network Tasmanian public affairs manager Alison Hetherington said she wasn’t surprised by the outcome.

Alison Hetherington from the Bicycle Network. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

“Most regular bike riders are sick of having to put up with substandard safety on our roads,” she said.

“The Collins St trial seeks to include separated cycleways because we need safer ways of getting through the city that cater to bike riders of all ages and abilities.

“Separated cycleways help prevent deaths and serious injuries and are a vital tool in our approach to making streets safer.

Speaking on ABC Radio on Wednesday morning, Mr Johnstone said he would now consult with members as to how the group would proceed in relation to its campaign against the trial from here on out.

He conceded that supporters of the project “had the numbers on the night but we still got our voice heard”.

A majority voted no on the first motion at a public meeting on the Collins Street bike lane trial at City Hall in Hobart on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.

“I just want to remind people that this was not an anti-bike lane meeting. This was about concerns in Collins St, which did take on a wider issue of consultation and did take on a wider issue of congestion, but it was focused around Collins St, not bike lanes anywhere else in the city,” he said.

“We are not anti-bike lane – we are pro-Hobart and we just want the best outcomes for Hobart.”

Hobart Deputy Lord Mayor Zelinda Sherlock said the public meeting was “a marvellous reflection of democracy in action”.

“The process now, as I understand it, is that a report will be written up and it will come to council. At our next meeting, we will have a look at that report and it will be up to the council to decide whether they actually accept any of those motions that were adopted,” she said.

Originally published as Community backs Hobart City Council’s Collins St bike lane trial at rowdy public meeting