Bikers revved up about city parking Mercury Tasmania KANE YOUNG August 11, 2008 12:00am
HOBART'S motorcyclists are calling for more inner-city bike-parking spots for commuters.
With motorcycles and scooters increasingly seen as more environmentally friendly alternatives, about 40 riders met at Joe's Garage in Hobart yesterday to discuss CBD parking and other issues, including the introduction of bus lanes and the use of wire-rope barriers.
Tasmanian Motorcycle Council president Shaun Lennard said people were now beginning to recognise that motorcycles and scooters could help solve transport problems such as congestion, fuel consumption and limited parking.
"We're very keen on initiatives such as considerably expanded areas for motorcycle parking in the city to encourage people to consider motorcycles and scooters as a transport option," he said.
"We're not saying that scooters and motorcycles are for everybody but, for people who do decide that, it's the way they want to commute, it needs to be included in sustainable transport planning."
Mr Lennard said that, although some employers provided parking within their premises for scooters and motorcycles, most riders were left to fight for one of the few on-street spots.
"The biggest area is the one outside Franklin Square, and this year we've seen that it doesn't even meet the demand on a cold winter's day," he said.
"There are a few other parking spaces dotted around the CBD, but we'd be looking for that to be significantly expanded.
"We've recently seen the Sydney City Council announce a plan to considerably increase the amount of on-street motorcycle parking.
"We think that some short-term fixes for motorcycle parking could be addressed pretty quickly, so I'd like to see something happen before this summer."