Badcoe Electorate Infrastructure Projects

Ms STINSON (Badcoe) (15:37): When it comes to infrastructure, there are exciting times, there are very busy times and there are also, I have to admit, slightly inconvenient times for my electorate—but these inconveniences will absolutely deliver better times ahead, and better transport infrastructure in particular. I rise to give a bit of an update to my community about what is happening with not one, not two, not three, but four amazing transport infrastructure projects that are getting very close now to kicking off.

Heading from the city outwards, the first of them is the Forestville archways and the Goodwood train station upgrade. Those opposite, in fact, wanted to have an entirely different project at Forestville which would have seen the destruction of 50 trees and an enormous concrete structure put in the beautiful Forestville Reserve. That would have absolutely decimated that reserve and really destroyed something that is somewhat of a community hub; I am fortunate enough to live in Forestville and even had my son's first birthday in that beautiful reserve only a few weeks ago. That is not happening under us.

When Labor got in, we made some decisions. We consulted thoroughly with the community, which had not happened previously, and we decided that there were much more modest changes that could be made that would achieve the safety objectives that were required. Has it pleased everyone 100 per cent? No, but it is about leadership and it is about compromise, and what we are delivering at Forestville Reserve is light years ahead of what would have been built there otherwise.

In coming months, what we will see is designs released for the archways. At the moment there are some very narrow archways that cause problems for cyclists, pedestrians, those with prams and indeed other users of the park in trying to safely navigate and get from one side of the line to the other. Those will be hugely widened.

We are also going to be improving the surface of the pedestrian underpass under Goodwood station: brightening it, putting in some decent drainage and some lighting, sprucing up the paintwork and really making it a more inviting environment. We want people to use public transport, and we want people to feel safe and comfortable and to enjoy the public amenities that we are so fortunate to have. So that is one project that will be happening with the tramline shutdown, which will happen in coming months.

The other major projects that are kicking off are the River Torrens to Darlington South Road tram overpass project and the Marion Road, Cross Road and Anzac Highway intersections, which will see a tram overpass built and also improvements to major intersections there. I will be right in the heart of the action there, with my electorate office right in the middle of the project. It will definitely cause some inconvenience for people coming and going around there, but in the end it will result in great improvements—improvements that my community have called for for a long time. Last but not least is the Morphett Road overpass. Yet again, this is another project that I fought hard for and that our community have asked for for quite some time. It is only since Labor has got in at a state and federal level that we have managed to secure the funding to make that happen.

Rather than having a series of different shutdowns, what this government has done is listen to people and just use common sense to make sure that all these projects are coordinated to happen simultaneously. So we are going to have one tramline shutdown rather than constant interruption to people, particularly locals living in the area and those traversing our area. What that means is that there will be shutdowns on the entire tram network on weekends, starting in May and wrapping-up in the first few days of August.

Following that, we will see the Glenelg tramline shutdown from south of the South Terrace stop through to Glenelg, from August until late January. That is a significant period of time, and we are making sure that there are replacement buses. Those bus timetables, I can tell you, are imminently going to be released. So my community will be able to see those and make alternative plans for this period.

I do want to sincerely thank my community. We are the ones making the sacrifice so that these projects happen. We will be the beneficiaries but so will people right across Adelaide. This will create a much more streamlined transport system and a much safer transport system as well.

Just a last little plug, Mr Acting Speaker: I reckon that, just like me, you love a bacon and egg roll. If you do, make sure you come along to the 'meet the neighbours' session, which is on Thursday 10 April at 7.30 in the morning, on the corner of Anzac Highway and South Road. It is an opportunity for people to get more information about the tramline shutdown and to talk to me, and also—more importantly, probably—the DIT staff.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Mr Brown): I should indicate to the house that, if people are after a very good egg and bacon roll, The Fabulous Baker Boys Bakery at Pooraka makes a very good one.