Road Upgrades

Mr GEE (Taylor) (15:20): I rise today to speak about another dangerous intersection in the Taylor electorate—a similar intersection to the Curtis Road-Heaslip Road intersection that I spoke about recently. This intersection is located on Womma Road where it intersects Stebonheath Road. This intersection marks the boundaries between Davoren Park, Edinburgh North, Eyre and Penfield. I have spent four years campaigning with our local community for a safer intersection, so I was pleased and encouraged that the upgrade of this intersection received broad cross-party support during the recent election campaign.

I will talk about all the Liberal Party election commitments made in my electorate at another time and people can make their own judgement about what candidates' pledges are worth, and of course it goes directly to the credibility of the candidate and their party. This intersection regularly sees crashes that cause injuries to members of our community. A crash last year nearly claimed the life of a child. One resident told The Advertiser following that crash, 'There are at least two crashes here per week.'

While data from Location SA shows that from 2011 to 2016 there were a total of 33 crashes at this intersection resulting in 24 casualties and one serious injury, these numbers do not include the unreported crashes. The frequency of crashes and the seriousness of injuries is increasing as the population rapidly expands. It is only a matter of time before we witness a fatality at this intersection, with the high likelihood that it will be a child given the large number of young families living in or moving into the area.

As I have just said, our local communities are seeing a rapid increase in population growth. We welcome the population growth, but one of the consequences of increased population is increased traffic. Surrounding infrastructure must be upgraded to cope with the extra vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The part of Womma Road from Main North Road until it hits the intersection with Stebonheath Road is a good, well-maintained road. However, the part between Stebonheath Road and the Northern Expressway needs work, and it really needs to be done now.

I conducted a postal survey several years back to which several hundred residents responded, with 95 per cent of people supporting a roundabout at this intersection and more than 50 per cent advising they had experienced either a collision or a near miss at this intersection. I have spoken with residents at shopping centres and street corner meetings, at sporting, social and business events in the area, and this intersection is raised consistently as a concern.

A new shopping centre recently opened on Stebonheath Road, bringing jobs and services to the area but also bringing more traffic. This intersection is a major topic of conversation when I am doorknocking in the adjacent areas of Andrews Farm, Davoren Park, Elizabeth North and Eyre. Residents thanked me for supporting improvements to road safety on voting day at the recent state election, and these road safety concerns will no doubt be an issue for local people at the upcoming federal election.

In the past, I have written to ministers of the previous government and the City of Playford, and some progress has been achieved. Originally it was planned that the backers of the Eyre development adjacent to the intersection would fund the intersection upgrade once a trigger point for land sales was reached. We have now moved to the point where DPTI has prioritised the intersection for upgrade, and I was informed by the former minister for transport late last year that the plans had been developed for the intersection but I was unable to secure funding in the short time prior to the caretaker period.

I note that during the election campaign, the SA-Best candidate started a change.org petition, calling on the next government to fund a roundabout at this intersection as a matter of priority. The petition received 3,338 signatures and was also supported on social media by the Liberal candidate Sarika Sharma. I am requesting that the Marshall state government fund the installation of a roundabout and associated infrastructure such as lighting, drainage and footpaths at this intersection as a matter of priority.

Nearly half of all crashes at this intersection occur at night. Unfortunately, we cannot wait much longer. We need to act soon. The traffic on Womma Road is markedly increasing as vehicles, including many heavy vehicles, use Womma Road to avoid the congestion on Curtis Road. I spoke about this two weeks ago. While I am speaking about road safety I need to mention another dangerous intersection on Womma Road that is causing concern to my community, the intersection of Womma Road and Andrews Road. This is an intersection I will talk about at another time.