MAGILL ROAD, PEDESTRIAN CROSSING

Mr MARSHALL (Norwood) (15:33): I rise today to speak on the dangers facing residents of Trinity Gardens and Beulah Park in my electorate due to the lack of pedestrian crossings on Magill Road adjacent to Salop Street. On Thursday I will table a petition to this house signed by a minimum of 390 concerned local residents, who are calling on the government to install a pedestrian crossing on this busy arterial road. This is a particularly dangerous stretch of road, a major arterial with two lanes of traffic coming in both directions and bike lanes on either side. It is nearly impossible to cross this road at any time, let alone during peak hour.

Residents, led by local Beulah Park resident, Angelina Dente and her daughter Christina, have been trying to get a safety crossing installed in that vicinity for more than three years now. This is not the first time that residents have called for a pedestrian crossing for this stretch of road. I know that this was raised several times with the previous member for Norwood, and since I was elected in March 2010 I have had a number of people make this point to me. It is an issue not only for local residents but also for a lot of the small businesses that reside and are domiciled on Magill Road.

What have we got in response from the government? So far, very little that is satisfactory to the people. In October of last year I received a letter back from the then minister for road safety, the member for Playford, in response to my letter, telling me:

To increase driver awareness of pedestrians crossing near the McDonald's Restaurant, the pedestrian warning signs were upgraded to the latest standard fluorescent signs on 16 March 2009.

That was hardly the response that local residents and businesses were looking for. Instead of putting in the requisite pedestrian crossings to guard safety for these local pedestrians, basically we upgraded the colouring on the signs adjacent to the McDonald's. It is not enough. It is certainly not accepted by the local residents or by me as the local member.

This government waxes lyrical about the importance of healthy lifestyles and pedestrian and cycling activity. In fact, this government established an Office for Walking and Cycling, and I commend it for that. It is important to get as many people out of their vehicles and walking and cycling, for commuter traffic as well as for recreation. However, when it comes to real action and responding to real need as identified by people in the community, this government is again found wanting.

The problem is not only about Magill Road in my electorate, nor is it with the adequacy of glowing yellow signs as recommended by our former minister for road safety, it is instead with the methodology used to decide whether a pedestrian crossing is needed on a particular road. According to the Code of Technical Requirements for the Legal Use of Traffic Control Devices, a pedestrian crossing should only be installed if:

...there are no fewer than 60 pedestrians crossing the roadway within close proximity to the site...in two separate one hour periods.

I ask you, Madam Deputy Speaker, who would actually risk life and limb to cross Magill Road so that they could prove that there is actually a requirement? It is completely dangerous and I would not recommend to anybody that they do this. There is no centre refuge in the middle of that road and there are no pedestrian lights for some distance.

Angelina Dente, the Beulah Park resident who has led this push—a pensioner in my local area, who has lived in the area for many years—has to walk 600 metres down the road to the intersection at Portrush Road and then another 600 metres back up, a total of 1.2 kilometres for a simple trip to cross the road to catch the bus, visit the doctor or the local businesses in that area. It is completely unsatisfactory. She is not alone. She is typical of people in the area who would never attempt to cross in peak hour for fear of their lives, yet peak hour is when the traffic surveys to establish the need for crossings are conducted.

Sixty people need to throw caution to the wind in order to convince the government that a road is in need of a safety crossing. The methodology is flawed, the system is flawed and it is causing considerable stress to residents who want only to be able to walk the streets of their area in safety. I call upon this government and the new minister to look again at the rules that dictate whether a crossing is necessary and to instead listen to residents who know an area best. Sticking to their flawed processes and installing token signs will not protect the residents of Trinity Gardens and Beulah Park when crossing this dangerous road. It is time the Minister for Road Safety re-examines the conditions by which a road is judged unsafe.