Channel Highway

2024. Council was successful in a Better Active Travel in Tasmania grant to prepare designs for improving the bike lanes. Car parking in the bike lanes has been an ongoing safety issue, especially as children use them to ride to school. The new designs will attempt to address issues with the current bike lanes.

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2022. The refurbished bus stop in front of Taroona Primary School has incorporated a section of bike lane, which previously had been missing.

In 2007 CyclingSouth and members of the Kingborough Bicycle User Group (K-BUG) identified the need for uphill sealed shoulders between Taroona and Kingston, with the section between Kingston and Tyndall Rd identified as the highest priority because of blind corners. The following year a grant was received to undertake the engineering design and costing.

Kingborough Council contributed $20K and arranged for a contractor to carry out a road survey. By 2010 preliminary design plans and costings had been developed (On Road Bike Lane – Channel Highway Preliminary Design 2009) followed by a scoping report. By November 2012 after much political lobbying, work commenced on installing 1.2 - 1.5m wide sealed shoulder. The timeline is outlined below

• 2013 -  Browns River Bridge to Proctors Road uphill sealed shoulder

• Community Association tables a petition in Parliament

• 2015 - The State Government allocates $500,000 to the project to upgrade 4 sections with uphill sealed shoulders, outlined below:

1. Site A: Just past Proctors Road to Tyndall Road junction – 750m 

2. Site B: Just past Illawong Crest to just past Shot Tower – 1010m 

3. Site C: Harpers Road to Lynden Road – 300m

4. Site D:  Taronga Road to Bonnie Brae Road– 100m

• 2016 - Works completed on Sites A to D.

• 2017 - Additional sites E and F done. Site E: Derwent Rise Embankment – 350m uphill section either side of the Baringa Road junction.  Site F: Tyndall Embankment – 450m uphill lane. 

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In 2023 a redevelopment of the centre of Kingston included uphill bike lanes but the opportunity to improve access through separated lanes on both sides of the road was missed. The footpath has been widened in places but street furniture creates obstacles, particularly bollards by the Hutchins St roundabout.

Bike lanes were installed on the Channel Hwy between Summerleas Rd and John Street as part of improved streetscaping in 2018.

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In 2009 Cycilng South made recommendations on the Kingston Bypass which included:

• Construction of a pedestrian underpass at Algona Road linking Huntingfield to the greater Kingston township;

• Reinstatement of the shared path and footpath on Summerleas Road overpass;

• A 3.0 metre wide shared path on the northern side of Spring Farm Road and a 1.5 metre wide footpath on the southern side;

• Extension of the Whitewater Creek Recreation trail from Summerleas Road to Spring Farm Road.

The dual lane roundabout at Algona Road is difficult to negotiate on a bike and signals or overpasses will need to be considered in the future.

In 2015 Cycling South met with representatives from State Growth and Kingborough Council to look at options to widen the bike lanes along the Channel Hwy between Summerleas roundabout and Huntingfield roundabout. There is opportunity to modify the linemarking to make the bike lanes wider by trimming space from the wide centre median.

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In November 2024 updated designs were presented to the parliament Public Works hearing. The designs are an improvement over the ones shown above and include a pedestrian bridge over the Channel Hwy linking Whitewater Creek and Springfarm residents to the Park and Ride. A shared path is proposed on the western side of the highway between Maddocks Road and Hollyhock Drive that links to the pedestrian bridge located slightly south of the Park and Ride where the road passes through a cutting. At the Public Works hearing it was revealed that the pedestrian bridge is not included in the project budget.

See Transport Services website

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In June 2022 a preferred option was released on the design of the Kingston bypass and Algona Road intersection. The Australian Government has committed $48M and the Tasmanian government is funding $12M (total $60M). The design included a future shared path (shown as a green line on the diagram) and an on-road bike lane on the northbound side of the Channel Hwy exit to Algona Road (dotted blue line).

Cycling South provided the following feedback:

• The path should be constructed as part of the Algona Roundabout upgrade and not at some unknown time in the future.

• The shared path should connect up with the existing track on the northern side of Spring Farm Rd bridge to provide a direct network connection to Kingston town centre.

• To the east the path should be extended along Algona Rd to connect with the Coffee Creek underpass under Algona Rd.

• Bike lanes need to be 1.5m wide and marked in both directions to the south of the roundabouts.

• Road crossings for the path should be grade-separated. There is a road cutting by the Park and Ride that would be suitable for a pedestrian bridge over the Channel Hwy.

Detailed designs were completed in 2024 and will be released to the community. Further information can be found at Kingston Bypass Duplication​

In 2020 a Channel Hwy planning study  between Kingston and Margate was done to investigate safety concerns, and consider how the Channel Highway meets the current and future community need. The consultation held  found:

• Strong support for a dedicated cycling/walking pathway 

• Cycling safety is a concern both in terms of the condition of the road shoulders and behaviour of passing motorists. Upgrade and seal shoulders to 1.5 m along corridor.

• Road users stated that the bridge at North West Bay River is believed to be inadequate for pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders to safety negotiate. The narrowness of the bridge, high volumes and speed of passing traffic were provided as reasons for this.

The Department of State Growth’s response was:

• a feasibility study for an off-road shared path from Margate to Huntingfield,

• shoulders widened and sealed to a consistent standard

• a walking & cycling bridge crossing at North West Bay River.

Once funding is secured to prepare more detailed analysis, feasibility studies and design of the opportunities identified an application for project funding and implementation can commence.

See Channel Trail for more details on an off-road path

In December 2018 a section of the Channel Trail between Snug and Margate was opened by Kingborough Council, which utlises sections of the Channel Highway road reserve. The trail is not suited to road cyclists who require 1.5m wide sealed shoulders with small aggregate to create a smooth riding surface. 

In 2016, Kingborough Council wrote to the Department regarding cyclist safety on this section of road. The lack of sealed shoulders on Conningham Hill increases risk to riders and inconvenience to drivers. It is part of an important cycling route to Kettering and the Bruny Island ferry.