Tasman Highway - November 2020 Sorell to Hobart Corridor Plan Document title 1 Contents Executive summary .....................................................................................................................................1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................3 Why has a Corridor Plan been developed? ............................................................................................................................. 3 Strategic Context ........................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Planning Study Objectives ............................................................................................................................................................ 5 Community Consultation ............................................................................................................................7 Consultation Methods Used ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 Feedback summary ......................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Addressing the feedback ............................................................................................................................................................. 10 Key Corridor Challenges ...........................................................................................................................12 Congestion ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Transport options ........................................................................................................................................................................ 12 Land use planning ......................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Road safety ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 14 A vision for the future – the Corridor Plan .............................................................................................15 Strategic Solutions Development ............................................................................................................................................. 15 Priority projects ............................................................................................................................................................................ 20 Next steps ...................................................................................................................................................22 Appendix A Summary of solutions assessed ...................................................................................................................... 23 Tasman Highway – Sorell to Hobart Corridor Plan i Executive summary The Sorell to Hobart Corridor Planning Study was commissioned by the Tasmanian Government to investigate ways to reduce congestion and improve travel time reliability on the Tasman Highway between Sorell and Hobart through road infrastructure, public transport and active transport initiatives. The overall objective was to develop a Corridor Plan identifying a staged plan of cost-effective improvement solutions for the corridor which will achieve a better level of service for all road users. The Corridor Plan is based on the Sorell to Hobart Corridor Study - Options Analysis Report (Jacobs 2019), which identified potential solutions to address the highway congestion issues. The objectives were to: • Review the Sorell to Hobart Highway corridor and identify issues that contribute to traffic congestion and unsatisfactory travel time reliability; • Identify a range of solutions, including passenger transport and active transport options that could be implemented to help achieve a better level of service particularly in peak periods; • Undertake a multi-criteria assessment to determine the high-level benefits and impacts of the identified solutions; and • Develop a Corridor Plan (this report) outlining a prioritised (high priority, medium priority and long term) list of solutions based on achieving a better level of service for all road users for delivery now and into the future. During the Options Analysis study, stakeholder engagement was conducted to inform the community about existing projects being delivered along the corridor as part of the South East Traffic Solution (SETS) and gain an understanding of their concerns about or suggestions for additional improvement to the corridor. The Options Analysis study identified potential solutions to address congestion issues across four themes: • Road infrastructure • Public and active transport • Intelligent transport systems upgrade • Land use This Corridor Plan has been developed to identify a number of prioritised packages with cost effective improvement solutions spanning across these four themes. The packages, which are prioritised as either high priority, medium priority or long term, aim to improve the level of service, road safety, and to cater for the future transport needs of the growing council areas of Sorell and Clarence. In summary, the high priority solutions are: • Development of a network operating plan, in conjunction with stakeholders, to provide the strategic guidance for how the Clarence transport network is used, managed, and planned into the future • The smarter use of existing infrastructure, mainly by utilising intelligent transport systems technology to improve the level of service of the network and manage demand • Upgrade of the Mornington roundabout to address community concerns and improve capacity and control. This may include metering certain approaches, or signalising the existing roundabout Tasman Highway - Sorell to Hobart Corridor Plan 1 to increase the life span of the intersection in the short term, before upgrading to a fully signalised intersection as needed in the future • Establishment of transit lanes between the Cambridge interchange and the Tasman Bridge to enable priority access for buses, taxis and other vehicles carrying multiple occupants • Provide alternatives to car travel by improving bus frequency, providing park and ride facilities at appropriate locations and providing higher standard facilities to complete missing cycle path links • Consider measures to prevent traffic from having to merge and cross the highway from Rosny Hill Road to the East Derwent Highway in peak periods • Work with key stakeholders to improve bus access from the Rosny bus mall onto the Tasman Highway to improve travel times. The medium priority and long-term solutions are to: • Further expand the use of transit lanes to continue to encourage the use of public transport as an alternative to car travel • Upgrade Mornington and Acton interchanges to support the growth of the Clarence and Sorell council areas and remove traffic away from local roads • Provide an alternate access to the Tasman Highway at Pass Road, reducing the reliance on the current interchanges and connecting roads that are approaching capacity in the peak periods • Plan for a new north-south connection to the Bowen Bridge via Flagstaff Gully to provide an alternate route into the northern suburbs of Hobart and reduce the reliance on the Tasman Bridge • Increase transport capacity on the Tasman Bridge in conjunction with Tasman Highway upgrades west of the bridge. Plans of the high priority, medium priority and long-term solutions are shown on the following pages. Tasman Highway - Sorell to Hobart Corridor Plan 2 HIGH PRIORITY SOLUTIONS Penna Road NOT SHOWN Development of a Network Operating Plan to provide strategic guidance for the Clarence transport network ill Consider measures to prevent traffic from having to merge and crossras the highway from Rosny Hill Road to the East Derwent Highway in peak times Smarter use of the existing infrastructure by expanding the use of ITS technology such as Lane-use Management System (LUMS) & Variable Speed Limits (VSL) (! Consideration of ramp signals to control access to the highway and provide safe merging gaps during high levels of traffic (! Upgrade of Mornington roundabout to address community concerns and improve capacity and control ± Solutions to encourage greater use of buses: Transit Lanes - build additional lanes giving buses priority between Cambridge interchange and the Tasman Bridge. These transit lanHs can be used by buses, taxis and other vehicles carryingmultiple occupants. NOT SHOWN Implement more high frequency bus corridors Tasman Highway NOT SHOWN R y i a Investigate new park and ride facilities at appropriate locations c hw h ig H NOT SHOWN m n Work with key stakeholders to improve bus access from the Rosny bus mall onto the Tasman Highway o a n m d s Ta o Full Cycle network between Tasman Bridge, Lindisfarne, Bellerive Ferry Terminal and Mornington Interchange-ad Completion of FRQQHFWHGRQURDGDQGRIIURDGWUDLOVRisdon