Scrapped plans to build a 500-space car park at Glebe Farm as part of the University of Tasmania's Inveresk campus is part of a bigger problem for traffic in the city, the Launceston Chamber of Commerce believes.
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Chamber executive officer Neil Grose said while the scrapped plans for the car park were disappointing, he believed the campus expansion plans would impact on traffic in another way.
"One of the key issues is how Willis Street will connect with the CBD and how students will move from the campus to the city," he said.
Mr Grose said many Launceston businesses and the Chamber predict that students will walk from the campus sites, from Inveresk and Willis Street to the CBD via Cimitiere Street.
However, that will create further problems than it will solve, due to Cimitiere Street being the major thoroughfare for truck freight in Launceston.
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"The Glebe Farm plan is really secondary [to this issue]," Mr Grose said.
UTAS had unveiled its plans to build the car park at Glebe Farm in the release of its Inveresk master plan in June, which detailed its plans for the $360 million campus.
However, on Saturday, it was revealed those negotiations had fallen through and UTAS would no longer be pursuing that as part of the campus.
UTAS pro-vice-chancellor Dom Geraghty said on Saturday that Glebe Farm was only "one of several solutions" the university was pursuing about parking at Inveresk.
However, to date, UTAS has not been in a position to reveal what other options it was pursuing.
"One of the key benefits of bringing the university to the city is the life and vibrancy our staff and students will bring to the Inveresk precinct and Launceston's CBD," Professor Geraghty said.
"We are excited about seeing more pedestrians in Launceston's streets and look forward to working with the council and other stakeholders to ensure this has the positive impact on the city we all want."
Mr Grose said if increased pedestrians used Cimitiere Street then it may impact on the use of the road for freight, as it would create a more dangerous position for truck drivers.
In addition, it would impact on the speed the trucks could travel and would potentially make them stop and start suddenly, which would impact on the viability of the route.
Traffic in the area has become a controversial topic, with increased investment and development including retail space and the newly opened Riverbend Park.
City of Launceston Council general manager Michael Stretton said the council was working collaboratively with UTAS to address traffic, parking and pedestrian management.
"Many of those issues raised by the Chamber regarding pedestrian and traffic movements will be dealt with accordingly in our Invermay Traffic Study," he said.
"The reality is, the university is still several years away from being fully operational on the site.It's important from the council's perspective that all solutions for the effective and safe traffic and pedestrian management in and around the UTAS site and the wider CBD are investigated and viable, workable solutions are ultimately delivered."
The Invermay traffic master plan was due to be discussed at the City of Launceston Council last year but was deferred due to the imminent local government elections. However it has not yet made it back to the council for approval.
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