Fix Ferry Road

Ferry Road links the  Channel Highway to the Bruny Island Ferry Terminal at Kettering south of Hobart;  it thus provides the gateway to one of Tasmania’s finest tourist attractions.  Yet according to one local the only maintenance that has occurred on the road in the past 35 years is that a white line was painted down the middle!

During that time there has been a significant growth in population on Bruny Island and in tourist traffic.

The road is not capable of sustaining the demands placed on it.  But despite concerted lobbying by the local community nothing has been done to improve the road.  At a public meeting held on 5 March 2009 an overwhelming majority of residents expressed their frustration at continuing inaction on the part of the Tasmanian Goverment and Kingborough Council.

The meeting called upon the Premier and the Minister for Infrastructure to urgently seek a grant from the much publicised Federal Government Infrastructure Fund to enable essential improvements to be carried out.  They took no action, claiming that such grants would only be available for “shovel-ready” projects.

In April 2009, consultants SEMF were engaged by Council, DIER and DED to develop a “Precinct Plan” for Ferry Road – Little Oyster Cove.  This plan was to be prepared by the end of June 2009 and was intended to prioritise and guide improvements to the area.  The draft plan was eventually released for public comment at the start of September 2009.  Some 33 submissions were received by Council and the matter has now been set down for discussion at the November Council meeting.

In the meantime there is no sign of any funding allocations being made by the state government.  No funding means no change.

A typical Ferry Road traffic situation

This website has been set up to support a campaign to maintain pressure on the Tasmanian Government and Kingborough Council until the project is completed. We want to improve the infrastructure of Ferry Road for the benefit of Kettering and Bruny Island  residents and local business whilst at the same time contributing to the Tasmanian economy by attracting more visitors.

A critical goal is  to retain the essential village/seaport character of Kettering as outlined in Kettering – Still a Special Place prepared by the Kettering and Oyster Cove Residents Group (KOCRES) in 2006.

Click here to read about the issues we are campaigning about and for the latest news visit our blog.

We would value your support.