Parliamentary Committees

Public Works Committee: Golden Grove Road Upgrade

Mr CREGAN (Kavel) (11:03): I move:

That the 14^th report of the committee for the Fifty-Fourth Parliament, entitled Golden Grove Road Upgrade, be noted.

Golden Grove Road is a key arterial road and a major commuter road in the north-eastern suburbs of Adelaide. The road upgrade aims to improve safety for all road users and reduce the likelihood of road crashes. The road upgrade will adopt safe system principles, which aim to reduce points of conflict and minimise the risk of right-angle and rear-end collisions by providing sheltered right-hand lanes and the installation of safety barriers.

The proposed upgrade involves several road infrastructure improvements on a 3.4 kilometre section of Golden Grove Road between Park Lake Drive and One Tree Hill. Some of these improvements include the construction of a roundabout at the Golden Grove Road-Hancock Road junction, additional traffic lanes, sheltered right-turn lanes, improved pedestrian and cycling facilities, the installation of safety barriers where required, as I mentioned, and road pavement resurfacing. The estimated total cost of the proposed works is $20 million and construction is expected to be completed by June 2020.

The committee thanks the member for King in particular for the evidence she provided to the Public Works Committee's recent hearing for the project; it was particularly useful. The Public Works Committee has examined written and oral evidence in relation to this project and the committee has been assured by officials from the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure and acquittals have been received from the Department of Treasury and Finance, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet and the Crown Solicitor that the works and procedures are lawful.

I report that the committee is satisfied that the proposal has been subject to the appropriate agency consultation and meets the criteria for examination of projects as described in the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991. Based on the evidence considered and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public works.

Ms LUETHEN (King) (11:05): I am so excited on behalf of my King electorate that I can finally provide this update on when the work will start on the Fix Golden Grove Road project today. On 28 February 2019, I took the opportunity to present to the parliamentary Public Works Committee to advocate on behalf of my electorate for the critical upgrade of the perilous Golden Grove Road. I have lived in Golden Grove for 20 years and seen this region develop into one of the best suburbs in the world. It is a delightful tree-lined area and my residents are always out walking and jogging.

We have numerous walking trails, creeks, parks such Cobbler Creek Recreation Park, great playgrounds, early settler landmarks, orchards and well-kept houses and gardens. We also have an excellent choice and combination of public and independent schools. However, in Golden Grove there is this one section of road on the border of the development which, after 25 years, remains an ignored, untouched, unsafe, dilapidated and potholed country road. This is the section of Golden Grove Road that I have campaigned to have upgraded on behalf of my community for over four years.

This section of Golden Grove Road is an essential road and is used each day by thousands of locals of the north and north-eastern suburbs. People from Gawler, One Tree Hill, Greenwith, Golden Grove and Surrey Downs regularly travel this section of road. Businesses such as Garden Grove and local quarries, trucking companies and real estate companies must frequent this road. Right now, the Tea Tree Gully council is moving its depot and its truck and car fleet to this same section of Golden Grove Road.

There has been insufficient investment in this section of road for over 20 years. Numerous housing developments have taken place and our local population has grown, and this has led to many issues. It is too narrow to cater for existing traffic flows of cars, bikes and B-double trucks, and turning cars and stopping buses create chaos. The poor condition of the road surface and the lack of overtaking lanes create significant safety risks. Locals have no safe place to walk. A lack of footpaths along the road and near bus stops forces people to walk on very uneven dirt, on the road and often on muddy tracks.

Insufficient stormwater drainage causes the road to flood every time it rains, creating dangerous situations for pedestrians and cars. This stormwater run-off towards the adjacent houses is an issue, with make-do dirt mounds directing the water flow. The notoriously busy intersection of Hancock Road and Golden Grove Road is unsafe for local traffic. People need to grit their teeth and plant their foot just to get across the road safely.

Commuters, cyclists and joggers risk their life along this section of Golden Grove Road. The extremely poor condition of the road causes excessive noise for residents as countless trucks bump along this road, and the unevenness of the road causes quarry and garden trucks to unintentionally release dirt into the air, which covers our homes and outdoor areas.

Local residents and businesses are all heavily dependent on this stretch of road, and my King community made it abundantly clear to the previous government in 2017-18 that upgrading this section of road is a priority for people and businesses in King and Newland. As a councillor on the Tea Tree Gully council, I and my co-councillor Bernie Keane gained unanimous support to write to the previous state government to ask about the plans to have this section of Golden Grove Road upgraded. The previous state government replied that this was not a priority.

A year or so later, because my local community continued to share its grave concerns and frustrations with me, I again wrote personally to the previous state government on behalf of my community requesting this upgrade to be prioritised and to ask for department plans. I received an acknowledgement from the previous minister's office but no response from this previous Labor minister.

Throughout this time, I was told that the City of Tea Tree Gully staff were also advocating for DPTI to upgrade this road to address the community concerns about safety. In addition, they told me they endorsed this upgrade and needed it so that they could attend to the long-overdue call for kerbing, guttering, drainage and footpaths along this stretch of road. Many times I had to relay to local residents that the council could not address the need for footpaths and landscaping until this road was one day upgraded.

As background, in 1983 the South Australian Urban Land Trust contracted Delfin to develop the land. There was an aim to create a safe, pleasant and risk-minimised community landscape. Construction started in 1985, with the last parcel of land being sold in 2002. The Golden Grove development was perceived as an opportunity to set new standards in urban development.

Today, we certainly have a strong, beautiful, united and very engaged community living in Golden Grove, with over 1,200 people signing my Fix Golden Grove Road petition asking the government to prioritise the upgrade of this road. In addition, we had the support of local businesses, such as Garden Grove, the local hairdresser 1385 The Hair Bar, local cafe and pizza bar Aroma, and Sam Doman from Ray White sharing the petition urging locals to support the petition to fix the road. Even the Tea Tree Gully Mall Walkers gave me a petition full of signatures. My colleagues the member for Newland and even the Minister for Innovation and Skills came out and stood on the side of the road and asked people to honk their horns for an upgrade and to sign the petition.

During consultation on the first draft of the plan, hundreds of locals came out to have their say on the upgrade and personally gave their time to provide feedback on the concept plans. Furthermore, the Minister for Transport has kept me up to date throughout all the stages leading up to the works that are going to start in July. I take this moment to thank residents, local businesses, my friends and colleagues, and the minister for the colossal effort to prioritise the fix of Golden Grove Road.

My local King community has been waiting over 20 years for this stretch of road to be safe and to reflect the standard of roads throughout the rest of the Golden Grove development. My community is eager to see a new roundabout at the junction of Golden Grove Road and Hancock Road; protected right-lane turns to keep traffic moving safely; on-road bike lanes in each direction; improved pedestrian facilities, including footpaths and pedestrian crossing facilities; indented bus bays; kerbing, guttering, drainage and road resurfacing; as well as new and upgraded road lighting.

The businesses on this road are keen to have their needs incorporated and to have the build be sensitive to their operations. That is why I have personally visited their premises to make sure that I understand their operational needs, and I have put them directly in touch with the people who have designed the plan for the upgrade. Thank you to the Public Works Committee and the Minister for Transport, in anticipation, for listening to the wishes of my residents and the requests from local businesses to upgrade this important section of Golden Grove Road.

This is a most important project for the King community and I am glad that the road has finally received attention and that the Marshall Liberal government is once again delivering for people and businesses in King. The works begin in July—#KingMatters.

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (11:14): I also rise to speak today on the 14^th report of the Public Works Committee in regard to the Golden Grove Road Upgrade Project. The actual report we tabled here in parliament examines the history of the proposal and the efficacy of South Australian taxpayer funds to the Golden Grove Road upgrade.

Golden Grove Road itself is a key arterial road in the north-eastern suburbs and provides an important link in the metropolitan road network. Golden Grove Road is under the care and control of the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, between North East Road and One Tree Hill Road. DPTI also has responsibility for the intersecting side roads, that is, Hancock Road, Yatala Vale Road and The Grove Way. All other intersecting roads are under the care and control of the City of Tea Tree Gully.

The road itself is a two-lane, two-way road that transverses urban and semi-urban land. This stretch of road is a major commuter route for the expanding residential area of the north-eastern suburbs. The crash history on the section of Golden Grove Road between Park Lake Drive and One Tree Hill Road reveals that between 2013 and 2017 there were a total of 48 crashes, including one fatality, 18 injuries and 19 cars with property damage only. The predominant crash type is a rear-end collision, followed by right-angle and right-turn types of crashes.

During March 2018, traffic surveys were also undertaken on Golden Grove Road at various locations between Park Lake Drive and One Tree Hill Road. Those traffic surveys found that average annual daily traffic volumes on this section of Golden Grove Road ranged between approximately 9,300 and 16,500 vehicles. Of those, about 8½ per cent were commercial trucks, so it is used by some quite large trucks.

As we heard from the member for King, before speaking here on this report she helped the committee in its deliberations to better understand the importance of this project to her local community and also to the north-eastern suburbs by attending as a witness. The member for King informed us that she had lived in Golden Grove for 20 years and that over that time has seen that suburb grow. However, in the Golden Grove area, while many of the roads are in quite good condition, this road, being heavily used—it is on the border of developments where there is a large residential population—has remained untouched and old. It really is a potholed country road.

I can also remember using that road myself each day. I used to go along it as I travelled to the Holden factory in Elizabeth during my short time working on the production line. I used to drive along Hancock Road, coming from Tea Tree Gully, and I then used this road to get through to Main North Road. I remember driving along there that there are some really big gum trees quite close to the side of the road. There were no shoulders at all, and it was very close to the trees, so, especially when it rained, it was quite slippery and you had drive carefully.

Another feature at that stage was that it had not been touched by residential development. You used to be able to drive along at over 60 km/h (I think the speed limit was at least 80 km/h), so you did have to be careful driving along. There were not too many cars on that road at the time, which shows how it has grown over time, and the member for King informed us that it really is used quite a lot these days. I suppose the summary is that even back then the road condition was in need of improvement, yet here we are in 2019 and the road has deteriorated since, and it has a much higher volume of traffic; the minimum estimates of 9,300 vehicles bear that out.

If we fast-forward to today, it is an essential road used by thousands of north and north-eastern suburbs locals each day. In terms of its catchment, it brings in all the north-eastern suburbs, and people from Gawler, One Tree Hill, Golden Grove and Surrey Downs also regularly travel along this road.

The member for King, in her witness statement, noted that the road's current condition, which I have elaborated on, has led to many issues including that it is too narrow to cater for the existing traffic flow of cars, bikes and B-double trucks. About 9 per cent of the traffic is made up of these commercial vehicles. A lot of the problems stem from turning cars and buses that are stopping and causing chaos with the other traffic. There is a high degree of rear-end crashes and right-hand turn crashes which can be attributed to the poor condition of the road surface and a lack of overtaking lanes which create these significant safety risks.

In addition, insufficient stormwater drainage causes the road to flood every time it rains, which further exacerbates and creates dangerous situations, for not only cars but also pedestrians. Recognising this, the member for King in her previous role as a councillor for the Tea Tree Gully council, moved a motion that resulted in the council writing to the former government asking for this stretch of Golden Grove Road to be upgraded.

The response back to the council was that it was not a priority for the former government. The member for King gave evidence that a year or so later, because her local community continued to share these concerns and frustrations with her, she wrote again to the previous state government on their behalf requesting this upgrade be prioritised and asking about the plans. She received an acknowledgement from the minister's office but no response. You can see that there was no appetite for it to be upgraded by the former government.

Taking this on as the candidate for the seat of King leading up to the election, she conducted a substantial number of on-site rallies, meetings and sign waving. She spent many mornings and afternoons on Golden Grove Road, particularly on the corner of Hancock Road where traffic, as she explained before, had to get across that road very quickly so as not to be involved in a collision. She also collected signatures of people in support of her campaign, pledging to fix Golden Grove Road. About 1,200 signatures were collected. Overall, she has mounted a very visible campaign to get this fixed. All credit should go to her for seeing this through; in fact, that is what happened.

In its first year of government, the Marshall Liberal government delivered on the member for King's election promise by allocating $20 million for this upgrade in its first budget. The upgrade itself involves a number of proposed road infrastructure improvements on that section of Golden Grove Road, approximately 3.4 kilometres in length between Park Lane Drive and One Tree Hill Road.

The Hon. A. Piccolo: Park Lake.

Mr PATTERSON: Sorry, yes, Park Lake Drive.

The Hon. A. Piccolo: Park Lane is in Monopoly, next to Mayfair, just in case you want to get it right.

The Hon. L.W.K. Bignell: Don't pass go, mate.

Mr PATTERSON: It is a lovely part of the world, although probably worth more on a Monopoly board. Absolutely.

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Mawson, it is not Monopoly.

The Hon. A. Piccolo: Perhaps you should visit it occasionally.

Mr PATTERSON: If you were here before, you would have realised I drove that many times on the way to Holden.

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Morphett, get on with it.

The Hon. A. Piccolo: And you still can't get it right.

The SPEAKER: Member for Light, be quiet.

Mr PATTERSON: This is what we are doing: we are fixing it. It is magnificent work by the member for King in getting it fixed. It will involve the construction of a roundabout at Golden Grove Road, with the Hancock Road junction, of which I am aware, but also where the member for King campaigned relentlessly.

It also involves the construction of additional traffic lanes at the Golden Grove Road signalised intersection with The Grove Way and Yatala Vale Road. It includes a second right-hand turn lane from The Grove Way approach and a second through lane on the Golden Grove Road approaches. In addition, there are sheltered right-hand turn lanes on Golden Grove Road at the unsignalised junctions which will reduce the rear-end crashes which were so prevalent between 2013 and 2017.

The upgrade will also take into consideration the announced proposed O-Bahn extension to Golden Grove to ensure that any potential interfaces between the projects are allowed for, so we are also looking forward. Importantly, drainage infrastructure will be improved to better manage natural stormwater flows through this upgrade site. The works will include upgrading the kerb and gutter on both sides of Golden Grove Road and the replacement of a number of stormwater culverts to manage these water flows where necessary. That is really important in terms of getting water off the roads.

This upgrade will certainly improve the safety for road users by adopting solutions that align with safe system principles to minimise the potential of road crashes by reducing points of conflict and minimising the risk of right-angle and rear-end collisions. In summary, as I conclude my remarks in the short time left to me, the Public Works Committee examined written and oral evidence in relation to the Golden Grove Road upgrade. Based upon that evidence, especially the evidence of the member for King, the Public Works Committee decided to report to parliament and recommend this proposed public work.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (11:24): I rise in support of this motion, and I can do so proudly because it was actually our government that funded the project. It was funded in the Mid-Year Budget Review about four or five months before the election. It is interesting that good works have many parents and bad works have no parents. We made the decision to fund it. I will make a few comments about bits and pieces of the record that members opposite either overlooked or were not aware of. I will elaborate for the benefit of the house.

I would like to thank the member for Lee, who was then the minister for transport and convinced the treasurer to make money available for that project. It is good to see that this is one project we committed to that the Liberals have not cut. All the Liberal Party have done is honour a commitment that we made in government. That is what we did. It is really great to see one project that we in government funded—amongst a few others such as Tulloch Road; there was a cost blowout, but that is another story for another day—that the Liberal Party have not cut. We did fund it.

Listening to the two members who just spoke, some of the language was a bit different. The member for Morphett was much more precise in his language because he is actually on the Public Works Committee. He corrected something that was said in the committee, which I am glad he picked up. Despite the committee Chair's best endeavours, the member for King could not quite get her facts right before the committee. The Chair even tried to provide some guidance to her on the day, but she could not get it right.

The member for King said that she collected a petition to the government or the minister, but she had to admit, after examination by the committee, that she never presented that petition to any minister in the government of the day or the parliament. It was never tabled. For her to use that petition as a basis to—

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Point of order, sir: would it be fair to assume that, if the committee found fault with any evidence given to it, the committee—

The SPEAKER: What is the point of order?

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: There isn't one.

The SPEAKER: Member for Light, sit down. What is the point of order?

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Sorry, this is a point of clarification. Would it be fair to assume that, if the committee found fault with any evidence given to it, the committee would have made that clear in its report?

The SPEAKER: Minister, that is not a point of order.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: A point of clarification.

The SPEAKER: It is not a point of clarification.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: It is bogus. It should be thrown out.

The SPEAKER: It is a bogus point of order, member for Light. In fairness to the minister, however, the member for Light is starting to drift into areas that might provoke government members. They will have a right of reply if they have not spoken. Member for Light, keep to the substance of the report, please.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: I thought of it as my preamble. I apologise if the truth provokes the government members, but the reality is that, when the committee heard evidence, the member had to admit before the committee that neither she nor another member had tabled the petition in this place nor given it to the minister. Her petition, as the member for Morphett correctly said, was 'collected signatures'. That is exactly what the member did: she collected signatures, not a petition, because it never went anywhere.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: To cut a long story short, it is good that this project is going ahead. It is a worthwhile project, and that is why, as a Labor government, we funded it.

An honourable member: Under pressure.

The SPEAKER: I ask members please not to make personal reflections on other members, as difficult as it may be.

Dr HARVEY (Newland) (11:28): I rise today to speak to the 14^th report of the Public Works Committee of this parliament on the Golden Grove Road upgrade. I would like to commend the committee members for their important work in this area. Certainly, the upgrade of Golden Grove Road has been a long time coming. Whilst the north-eastern suburbs continued to expand at a rapid rate and traffic volumes increased dramatically, the road barely changed in almost 30 years. It has been fantastic to see this area grow and become much more vibrant. We have a new shopping centre and a number of businesses along there now, and the Tea Tree Gully council is about to move its depot up there, so upgrading this stretch of road has certainly been a long time coming.

In particular, the upgrade will occur to the 3.4-kilometre stretch of road between Park Lake Drive and One Tree Hill Road. This road is not physically located in Newland, but quite a number of people within my electorate use this road and have certainly raised concerns around the safety of this stretch. Some of the greatest concerns that have been raised by people in my electorate are around the intersection between Hancock Road and Golden Grove Road, which meets at an awkward angle. Given the much greater volume of traffic along there now, making a right-hand turn from Hancock Road onto Golden Grove Road has become a lot more difficult.

As others have mentioned, there are issues with the width of the road, given the increase in traffic, particularly larger vehicles. There are issues with drainage, with people standing in mud waiting for the bus. There are issues with the road clogging up as people are caught behind cars that are wanting to turn right into the various roads that intersect there. There is also inadequate pedestrian access to bus stops. Between 2013 and 2017, there have been 48 crashes: one fatality, 18 injuries and 29 cases of property damage. In the busiest sections, traffic volumes had increased to more than 16,000 vehicles per day.

There is no question that the previous government had been well and truly asleep at the wheel on this issue. They had 16 years to do something about this, and it was only on the eve of an election—as the member for Morphett just pointed out, apparently it was not a priority before that—that it suddenly became an issue of concern. After ignoring the issue for a long period of time, they were dragged—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Dr HARVEY: —to the party by the hard work and advocacy of the member for King. On a number of occasions I had seen firsthand the hard work of the member for King advocating for this issue, standing on the side of the road and getting people to stop. I tell you, it was not hard at all to get signatures because people had been calling for this for a long time. I was very pleased to give her a hand on a few occasions.

Because we had been listening, we already knew the community wanted it. What we wanted to do was demonstrate to the government and try to convince the government of the day that the community cared, because the government at the time certainly did not. For a long time the community had been crying out but, as was the case with so many issues, particularly in the north-east, the previous Labor government was just not listening. It is quite galling for the member for Light to claim any kind of credit and try to split hairs over issues that, quite frankly, the community do not care about.

At the end of the day, what the community want is the road to be upgraded. They want an upgraded road, and that is actually what they are going to get. I know firsthand from much communication with people in the community that they know who is responsible for this because they saw the member for King out there day after day calling for this, whereas the Labor Party were completely absent and asleep at the wheel. No amount of spin and vacuous political rhetoric from the member opposite will change the mind of any member of the community. Labor had 16 years to fix this road—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Dr HARVEY: —and they did not do it. The Marshall Liberal government committed to it before the election. We were listening and now we will be delivering it.

Specifically, the project will include the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Golden Grove Road and Hancock Road with some realignment between the two roads. There will be additional traffic lanes at the Golden Grove Road intersection with The Grove Way and Yatala Vale Road. There will be sheltered right-hand turn lanes at the intersections of Golden Grove Road, Highgrove Road, Kunzea Way, Einstein Drive, John Road (which is a particularly busy one) Greenwith Road, Satsuma Crescent and Ross Road.

We will also improve pedestrian access and cycling facilities, with particular improvements to pedestrian crossings within close proximity to bus stops. Road lighting will also be assessed and upgraded as necessary. Drainage will also be improved to better manage the stormwater issues in that area.

Excitingly, the upgrade will also take into account the potential extension of the O-Bahn to Golden Grove to ensure that any potential interfaces between the projects are taken into consideration. Consultation with the community was also conducted by the department. I would like to commend the staff of the department for their work on that; they did a fantastic job. It was great to meet some of the engineers who had been working very hard on that project.

This is a very exciting development for our community in the north-east. It will improve road safety for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. Unfortunately, though, it is just another example of the previous government failing to listen to the community, but now we are cleaning up the mess. We were listening. We are now delivering and I am very excited to see these works completed.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining) (11:35): I take my opportunity to make a few remarks. We have heard from previous speakers about the details of the work that has been done. I left Adelaide 20 years ago and moved to the north of the state. Before that, I used to spend quite a lot of time in the north-eastern suburbs, but things have changed and things have come a long way since then.

I will not pretend to know more about the details of this project than others, but what I do know about this project is that it would not have happened without the advocacy of the member for King. In the lead-up to the last election, the member for King campaigned on this issue and many others on behalf of her electorate. What she did is what every good candidate who is running for the right reasons does, and that is to try to bring to light areas that need support, whether it be a road upgrade like this, whether it be a service, or whatever it might be.

By bringing issues to light, regardless of the outcome of an impending election, a candidate can make a big difference for his or her electorate. That is exactly the spirit and exactly the way in which the member for King campaigned. With that method of campaigning and that good, genuine, decent, positive spirit that she took to the election, it is not surprising that she was elected and that the Marshall Liberal government was successful as well.

When you do things for the right reasons, things usually turn out the right way. The member for King, through her effort in her local community to bring this issue to the forefront, has been able to deliver this project for the people of the north-eastern suburbs.

Mr CREGAN (Kavel) (11:37): The member for King and the member for Newland have been diligent, hardworking advocates for this project. The hard fact of the matter is that the former government had 16 years to deliver this project and they did nothing to deliver it until the absolute death knell. The reason they took that step is that the member for King and the member for Newland put their heart and soul and their shoulder to the wheel into preparing and building a case from the ground up.

They went out, they secured signatures and they put pressure on to ensure that there would be a commitment, and that commitment was made. The reason that no signatures were presented to this place was that the job had been done. There was a commitment, and it was clear that this project would be brought forward. Without that diligent, hardworking, consistent and persistent advocacy, we would not be here today. I would not be on my feet indicating that a case had been built and nominating the member for King and the member for Newland as the instigators, the agents who brought that much-needed change. Of course, they are much respected for the case they built.

The project will be seen through by this government. This is a piece of infrastructure that was desperately needed, and I am sure that it will now be widely used. I am incredibly frustrated to hear the member for Light suggest that there was no useful purpose to the member for King's advocacy. There was significant purpose: it was needed and much appreciated, and now we are delivering the project.

Some of the remarks that were made were meandering and confused. I am pleased that we have had the opportunity to correct the record. I am also pleased that I have had the opportunity to reflect briefly on the evidence given by the member for King. There was, as the minister quite rightly pointed out, nothing in the report that contradicted that evidence. I must say that, as Presiding Member, I was very grateful to have had the benefit of that evidence before us so that we could make a decision about the utility and the need for this project. I commend the report.

Motion carried.