Walk this way — web of trails promises a healthier Tasmania

Take the high road to lower traffic congestion, writes Graeme Lynch

There’s a lot of talk lately of a need to spend big bucks on alleviating traffic congestion in Hobart.

Long term, it makes sense to construct the roadways that will keep our increasing population moving smoothly. Tasmanians will rely on cars for some time yet. But there’s a more immediate strategy we can set in motion that happens to carry immense benefits for the community – and we don’t need a billion dollars for it.

It seems we’re beginning to think a little more creatively about alternatives to motor vehicle transport. Indeed, Hobart City Council is committed to a raft of measures intended to address not only traffic congestion but its carbon footprint through measures such as offering incentives for bike riders and rolling out electric tuktuks for city transport (Mercury, December 12).

I can imagine a not-too-distant future with beautifully co-ordinated networks of fast, frequent public transport, with buses and perhaps light rail passing through spacious park-and-ride reserves. Ferries will crisscross the river, connecting our riverside suburbs with the CBD. Wide and safe continuous walk and cycle paths will increasingly link the places we live, work and play.

This isn’t an unattainable Nirvana. Thanks to upgrades on the Hobart waterfront you can now walk almost unimpeded from Claremont all the way to Salamanca, and there’s little dispute that our city is better for it.

The same goes for Clarence, with a trail stretching from Geilston Bay to Rokeby with parks and recreation facilities dotted along the way.

Next stop, Brighton and Bridgewater merging with greater Hobart into one big, connected cityscape.

Way back on a weekend last January while the new Remembrance Bridge was going up and the Tasman Highway was closed, we saw about 1600 people jumping on a ferry to get to the city and home again. The service ran like clockwork and could easily be upscaled to cater for daily commuters (which would be particularly appealing given how challenging it is to ride a bike over the bridge!)

The Heart Foundation’s Healthy Active by Design website abounds with examples from around the country of how small projects are slowly but surely getting people out of their cars. I encourage you to look at healthyactivebydesign.com.au for some inspiration.

Our stake in all this is a rather obvious one: active people have healthier hearts. As Australia’s number-one killer, heart disease could use a fix that isn’t just about treatment.

We know simple things like good public transport networks, walking and cycling can dramatically reduce obesity and the diseases that go with it.

If physical activity were a pill, we’d all be taking it.

Addressing the issue needs input from state and local governments, as well as community organisations and health charities like the Heart Foundation, across all areas of policy. In fact, “health in all policies” has been our catchcry for many years. It simply means that impact on public health should be front and centre when it comes to policy.

In August, as chair of the Premier’s Health and Wellbeing Advisory Council, I signed the Tasmania Statement (you’ll find it on the DPAC website). It’s co-signed by Premier Will Hodgman and Deputy Jeremy Rockliff. It promises a shift in the way the State Government looks at public health across all levels of government, business and civil society. It undertakes to implement practical actions to improve health and wellbeing of all Tasmanians, for instance through recognising the importance of our natural open spaces and connecting communities. This approach aligns with mandates from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and World Health Organisation health in all polices agenda.

It just so happens that reducing traffic congestion and improving public health are linked – there are very substantial co-benefits for Tasmanians. We just need be mindful of that link as we make decisions about the direction our city takes.

Graeme Lynch AM is chief executive of the Heart Foundation Tasmania.