Morphett Road Level Crossing

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (15:18): I take the opportunity in parliament today to acknowledge and thank the 1,332 people so far who have signed my petition that calls on the state government to work with the federal government to fully fund and construct either an overpass or an underpass at the Morphett Road tram crossing while that line is closed to make sure that this major traffic bottleneck is fixed.

Whether it is during the morning peak hour when traffic is travelling along Morphett Road into the city, or in the afternoon starting from the school pickups and going right through to the end of the day as the last of the commuters make their way home from work, or whether it is just on the weekends, especially on race days, whichever it is, the red lights flashing, the bells ringing and the boom gates down signal one thing and that is delays. Now, these delays are caused more or less—and only getting worse—because of the urban infill going on in Glengowrie, Morphettville and Camden Park, as well as the other suburbs, which has increased substantially over the years.

The number of responses to the petition shows that there is massive community frustration at the congestion and delays that are caused at this major traffic bottleneck. I would like to highlight some of the responses to the petition, which really gives an insight into why people want to see a solution here. An emergency services worker said:

As a firefighter responding to emergency incidents we get stopped endlessly on the way to fire calls at the crossing and have to wait for the tram and traffic to clear, this has time issues for people needing an emergency response. Potentially causing greater injuries or death.

Another says:

I was a member of the SES and was constantly impeded from responding to urgent incidents when a tram was crossing due to the light cycle at Anzac Hwy and delays due to residual traffic. It's negligent to not fix this problem intersection whilst the tram is shut down and less travelled intersections are given priority.

A teacher has said:

I work at Immanuel Primary School in Novar Gardens. I avoid this route because of this crossing and would use this to go to and from work if it were fixed. I also see the significant bank up traffic that occurs from the end of the school day for around 3 hours. I have concerns about children's safety with accessing the tram and crossing the intersection with impatient drivers. The whole area needs to be fixed urgently.

A frustrated parent wrote:

I have kids at Immanuel and often drive through this intersection. I have seen so many near misses, it's a death waiting to happen. I've also been a parent volunteer with kids and had to walk school kids across Anzac Hwy to that tram stop. Both the Anzac highway crossing and navigating the traffic is dangerous.

I will finish off with a simple one, which we can all empathise with:

It's a nightmare, you can be stuck there for way too long.

The responses from the Morphett community reinforce to me why I have been advocating for a solution since before I was elected as a member of parliament in 2018. I will continue to fight for a solution for this bottleneck to reduce congestion and improve road safety at this intersection.

I understand that the intersection is a complicated one, with the tram crossing being so close to Anzac Highway but also near the Sturt Creek and the tram barn nearby. Of course, these complications require a detailed design, and that is why in March 2022 I worked with my federal Liberal colleagues to secure funding to undertake a design for this intersection. I am pleased that design work has commenced in 2023. As we move towards 2025, the Glenelg tramline will be closed between Glenelg and the city to allow construction of an overpass at Marion Road and Cross Road, which is a perfect opportunity to also fix the Morphett Road tram crossing while that tramline is closed.

Recently we have had both the federal and state governments hand down their budgets and in a bitter blow neither the federal nor the state budget has allocated any funding to fix the Morphett Road tram crossing. While disappointing, it just makes me more determined to redouble my efforts until the government commits to a solution at this bottleneck. I again thank everyone who has signed my petition to fix the Morphett Road tram crossing. I will continue to get more signatures for the petition to hammer home to the government that there is overwhelming support to fix the Morphett Road tram crossing.