DAMIEN BROWN
Hobart Mercury - Wednesday 13 January 2009
HOBART'S streets have become a battleground as pedestrians and retailers struggle for valuable space on footpaths.
Concerns have been raised over the city's footpaths being invaded by tables, chairs and signs, forcing pedestrians on to potentially dangerous streets.
One area of concern is a popular coffee stop in Liverpool St, where tables have left pedestrians with little more than a metre. Many walkers are opting to use the road to avoid the footpath bottleneck.
As well as facing a busy road, the coffee stop is in front of a bus stop.
Hobart City Council Deputy Mayor Helen Burnet said North Hobart and Salamanca Place were also being taken over by retailers' outdoor furniture.
And the nation's pedestrian advocacy groups say it is retailers who will ultimately lose if people cannot walk in comfort in inner-city areas.
Pedestrian Council of Australia chairman Harold Scruby said the "art" of walking was slowly being lost in cities around the country.
"It took us 50 million years as human beings to learn how to walk and it has taken just 50 years for us to forget," Mr Scruby said.
"It is an indictment on councils for not planning this properly and ensuring pedestrians can walk in comfort and safety around cities."
New State Architect Peter Poulet has also joined the debate, labelling Salamanca Place "a dog's breakfast" and highlighting the need to widen footpaths as part of his Sullivans Cove Master Plan released in December.
Ald Burnet said there was a need to review the layout of footpaths and the placement of sandwich boards.
She warned that there was the potential for "unwanted physical clashes" if the matter was not resolved.
"We as a council have a perfect opportunity both with the proposed Inner City Development Plan and the new City of Hobart Planning Scheme to get unwanted hazards well out of the way, particularly near our most popular haunts and areas where footpaths are narrow," Ald Burnet said.
"It is particularly difficult for some people with disabilities to manoeuvre easily through such narrow walkways. We have a fantastic city and should be making the experience as pleasant and as safe as possible."
The Launceston City Council last year implemented a streetscape plan that restricted sandwich boards and tables.
General manager Frank Dixon said the council's on-street trading activities policy had resulted in a reduction in the number of complaints about obstructions.
Mr Scruby said people could no longer walk two abreast because of space restrictions.
"We are not ducks who walk in a single file. We like to walk and talk and enjoy ourselves and, quite frankly, pedestrians were here before cafes," Mr Scruby said.
"If this is not dealt with, Australia will become the fattest nation in the world because we are not walking any more and commerce in these cities will fail because you can't shop from a car. If it is not comfortable to enjoy yourself, people will desert the inner city and go to shopping centres where they can get around with ease."
Mr Scruby said it was important to ensure footpaths, particularly the space against a building's foundations, were kept clear for vision-impaired people.
He proposes that tables and chairs be banned from directly outside a restaurant or cafe and kept a minimum of 1.8m from the door and against the curb.
