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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-11-14 Daily Xml
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GOODWOOD JUNCTION UPGRADE

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (14:16): My question is directed to the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure. Minister, could you update the house on the progress of the Goodwood Junction upgrade?

The Hon. P.F. CONLON (Elder—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (14:17): I thank the member for her question and place on the record the great keenness that both the member for Ashford and the federal member for Adelaide have shown in making sure that on this project we are doing the right thing by locals. I have to say both members have been in my office getting across what we are doing and making sure that we are doing the best possible community engagement—which we are—partly thanks to their work.

This project seeks to separate the passenger and freight rail at this junction by putting the passenger line under the freight line. This will enhance rail and traffic safety. Some people (and I am one of them) know how long you can be stuck on Cross Road by the freight trains. This will reduce that waiting time by about five minutes by not requiring the trains to move so slowly through there, and it will reduce waiting times for traffic at the Leader Street and Victoria Street intersections as well. Importantly for local members, it will therefore reduce noise for residents from freight train braking, which is one of the major causes of disturbance from that heavy traffic.

As I said at the outset, it is something that we wanted to do very well because we are aware that, while these major projects have a great benefit for the broader community, they do have a large impact on local residents. With that in mind, and having talked to the local members, we have made presentations to the Unley council and local community groups. There was doorknocking of all properties directly facing the rail corridor for the length of the project. This is a new form of community engagement that we do, and we think it is the very best.

There was a community information day, and I know the member for Ashford was there, on Sunday 28 October, where interested residents and community representatives were able to view animations of vegetation, traffic and construction plans and ask questions of various project teams. That meeting was attended by both the chief executive of the Department of Transport and the deputy chief executive responsible for public transport. It is by doing this that we get a greater community acceptance of what is a very large disruption for many people.

It will have a good outcome for those people in the longer term, and I again want to place on the record the very hard work that has been done by the member for Ashford and Kate Ellis (the member for Adelaide) for their constituents in making sure that we do the right thing by them.

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