Street Upgrades for Queen Street & Victoria Esplanade in Bellerive

City of Clarence will enhance walking & riding on Bellerive Bluff with extensive street improvements to Queen Street & Victoria Esplanade, including shared paths along their lengths.

What’s the plan?

City of Clarence has developed a master plan for both Queen Street and Victoria Esplanade on Bellerive Bluff.

Queen Street

Queen Street is a flat, straight street that crosses the width of Bellerive Bluff, roughly 600 m in length. It directly connects Bellerive pier & village at one end with the beach & oval at the other end, making it a key active transport route.

Here’s the plan for Queen Street, starting from the pier / village and travelling south-east to the beach / oval.

A map of Queen Street from the pier on the left to the beach on the right. Cross streets are marked left to right: Petchey, Crown, Scott and Derwent Streets.

At Petchey Street

Realignment of the intersection of Queen & Petchey Streets — labelled (2)
The entire Queen / Petchey / Cambridge intersection made into a raised table with multiple pedestrian crossings.
The start of a 3 m wide bidirectional shared path the length of the southern/western side of Queen Street.

A diagram showing three streets intersecting from above. There's wide footpaths, multiple pedestrian crossings and the entire intersection is an elevated table. — Queen Street, Petchey Street and Cambridge Road intersection.

At Crown Street

The 3 m wide bidirectional shared path continuing — (1)
Raised crossing at Crown Street intersection — (3)

A diagram showing Queen Street from above. There's a wide footpath along one side. There's a T junction with another street labelled Crown Street. A raised continuous footpath continues the Queen Street shared path across Crown Street. — Queen Street and Crown Street intersection.

At Scott Street

The 3 m wide bidirectional shared path continuing — (1)
Mini roundabout and raised table with multiple pedestrian crossings at Scott Street intersection — (2)

A diagram showing a street from above. There's a wide footpath along one side. The street intersects with another street labelled Scott Street. At the intersection is a roundabout with a surrounding elevated table. There's pedestrian crossings across both streets as they intersect the roundabout. — Queen Street and Scott Street intersection.

At Derwent Street / Victoria Esplanade

The end of the 3 m wide bidirectional shared path connects to pedestrian crossings with road narrowing and raised table — (7)
One way westwards traffic along the esplanade from Queen Street to Chapman Street — (2)
This allows for the bidirectional shared path to be widened to 3 m — (5)
Raised pedestrian crossing at Derwent Street intersection.

A diagram showing three streets intersecting from above. There's wide footpaths, multiple raised pedestrian crossings and the road is narrowed to one lane at points. There's lots of greenery. — Queen Street, Derwent Street and Victoria Esplanade intersection.

Victoria Esplanade

Victoria Esplanade also connects Bellerive pier & village with the beach & oval. Unlike Queen St however, it takes a meandering 1.6 km route along the coast and around the bluff. It’s a great recreational route.

Here’s the plan for Victoria Esplanade, starting from Bellerive Pier and travelling south to the bluff and then north-east to Bellerive Beach and Bellerive Oval.

A map of Victoria Esplanade from the pier on the left to the bluff on the right. Cross streets are marked left to right: King, Thomas, Dillon and Abbott Streets.

At Bellerive Pier

Revised carpark layout for better pedestrian access, all abilities access, drop off & pick up, slower traffic speeds — (3)
Raised table for pedestrian priority, slower traffic speeds — (4)
A bus stop — (BS)
Terraces — (7)

A map showing a ferry terminal, wide paths, pedestrian crossings, a bus stop, a car park and a street. — Bellerive Pier

A photo showing the view approaching the Bellerive Pier from Cambridge Road. There's lots of parked cars and no pedestrian crossings. — The view approaching Bellerive Pier along Cambridge Road as it is now (above) and after proposed changes (below). (Images Google Maps & City of Clarence).

A photo showing the view approaching the Bellerive Pier from Cambridge Road. There's raised pedestrian crossings and lots of plants. There's a few parked cars and lots of people walking.

At King Street

Bidirectional shared path widened to 3 m — (6)
Plaza & terraced seating — (1)
Pavilion converted to cafe with outdoor dining on the verandah and in a new forecourt — (2)
Upgraded public toilets underneath cafe — (2)
Raised pedestrian crossing — (RT)
Parking moved to street level.

A map showing planned improvements to Victoria Esplanade near King Street including a wider shared path. — Victoria Esplanade near King Street

A photo showing a view looking down on the pavilion on Victoria Esplanade near King Street. — The pavilion on Victoria Esplanade as it is now (above) and after proposed changes (below). (Images Google Earth & City of Clarence).

An artists impression showing a view looking down on the pavilion on Victoria Esplanade near King Street.

At Abbott Street

Bidirectional shared path widened to 3 m — (6)
Repaired ramp for kayak launching — (2)
Grassed area for kayak wash down — (3)
~~Raised table directing through traffic onto Abbott Street — (9)~~ — removed from final plan
~~Road closed to traffic allowing for a wide foreshore trail for people walking and cycling around the bluff — (10)~~ — removed from final plan

A map showing planned improvements to Victoria Esplanade near Abbott Street including a wider shared path and the closure of Bluff Road. — Victoria Esplanade near Abbott Street.

A map of VICTORIA ESPLANADE from the bluff on the left to the beach on the right. Cross streets are marked left to right: Gunning, King, Chapman and Queen Streets.

At Gunning Street

On the other side of the bluff:

~~Road closed to traffic until Gunning Street — (2)~~ — removed from final plan
One way eastwards traffic from Gunning Street to King or Chapman Street — (8)
This allows for a wider bidirectional shared path separated from the road by raised planted strips instead of the existing steel cable fence — (7)

A map showing planned improvements to Victoria Esplanade near Gunning Street including a wider shared path and the closure of Bluff Road. — Victoria Esplanade near Gunning Street.

At King & Chapman Streets

Victoria Esplanade possibly closed to traffic between King & Chapman Streets to allow for an appropriate width of shared path — (2)
A turning circle at the end of King Street if the road is closed — (3)
One way westwards traffic along the esplanade from Queen Street to Chapman Street — (4) — subject to further study & consultation
This allows for the bidirectional shared path to be widened to 3 m — (5)
Raised pedestrian crossings.

A map showing planned improvements to Victoria Esplanade near King and Chapman Streets. — Victoria Esplanade between King Street and Chapman Street.

Our thoughts

The good

The changes will make Queen Street a safer and more pleasant place for active transport. It’s an important route, connecting Bellerive oval with the ferry terminal at Bellerive Pier, and is part of the Greater Hobart Cycling Plan.
Similarly, changes to Victoria Esplanade will make this important recreational route along the coast an even safer and more pleasant place to walk & ride. There’s also many changes that will make it a more interesting place to hang out and explore.
Traffic calming measures will create an environment that encourages safe vehicle speeds by design.
A new bus stop at the pier will improve public transport connections to the ferry.
There’s lots of modern street design features throughout. For example, greenery and water sensitive urban design features to slow, absorb & filter storm water.
It’s great to see a timeline for implementation.

The less good

In relation to the Queen Street shared path, the final plan states: further changes to parking allocation and cycleway require further investigation and consultation with adjacent residents prior to any changes to existing parking and road widths. There is a significant risk that the design will be compromised to a point it doesn’t serve its purpose of providing a shared path that can be safely used by people of all ages and abilities.
Event crowds will result in too many people walking on the Queen Street shared path for people to be able to ride as well. Given these high numbers at peak periods, the ideal scenario would be to have separate paths for walking and riding here.
Traffic free sections of Victoria Esplanade around the bluff and between King & Chapman Streets would have created a significantly better space for recreational use while maintaining vehicular access to all properties. It’s disappointing this was removed from the final plan.

Where’s it at?

Implementation will occur in stages over the next 9 years:

Financial Year	Design	Construction
2024/25	Stage 1 — Pier & Victoria Esplanade Precinct Stage 2 — Pavilion Precinct
2025/26	Stage 3 — Queen St North & South	Stage 1 — Pier & Victoria Esplanade Precinct
2026/27	Stage 4 — Victoria Esplanade / Queen St Precinct	Stage 2 — Pavilion Precinct
2027/28	Stage 5 — Point Precinct North & South	Stage 3 — Queen St North & South
2028/29	Stage 6 — Bluff Precinct East & Central	Stage 4 — Victoria Esplanade / Queen St Precinct
2029/30	Stage 7 — Bluff Precinct West	Stage 5 — Point Precinct North & South
2030/31	Stage 8 — Cambridge Rd & Bellerive Village	Stage 6 — Bluff Precinct East & Central
2031/32		Stage 7 — Bluff Precinct West
2032/33		Stage 8 — Cambridge Rd & Bellerive Village