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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-11-17 Daily Xml
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Grievance Debate

O-Bahn Tunnel

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (15:34): On 25 February 2015, the government announced the third version of the O-Bahn extension, which will see Hackney Road transformed into a six-lane corridor into the city. Since February, my office and I have fielded many calls from concerned locals about the pedestrian and vehicle impacts of this project on the local community.

Can I state from the outset that I do believe that the O-Bahn infrastructure itself is an outstanding piece of public transport infrastructure. Of course I would say that, because it is an excellent piece of infrastructure introduced by the Tonkin Liberal government. Nevertheless, my local community understands the significance of the O-Bahn in South Australia and they fully support public transport improvements when they are delivered in a strategic manner. However, it is quite clear to me and to many of my constituents in Dunstan that a number of issues relating to this important project remain unresolved to this point in time.

I have been contacted by many residents, young and old alike, who are concerned that their access to the Botanic Gardens from Hackney will be significantly more difficult. Residents are rightly concerned about their ability to cross over to the Botanic Gardens. They will now need to cross six lanes of traffic with no signal crosswalks between North Terrace and Bundy's Road—that is a distance of 1.2 kilometres.

The government's project impact report itself talks about a diminution of safety with regard to pedestrian crossings in this stretch, and yet no alternative options have been addressed. Yes, there will be pedestrian refuges along Hackney Road. There are currently four, plus two electronic crossings at each end of Hackney Road, with over 660 pedestrians using them every day. It is concerning that, to date, as far as I am aware, no independent safety study has been conducted which takes into consideration pedestrian movements as well as traffic movements.

I have been contacted by residents who are dismayed that there is no alternative for them to head north along Hackney Road without heading significantly south in the first instance. This poses a significant issue for the residents of southern Hackney in particular, as they will essentially become landlocked by these traffic restrictions. I have been contacted by many people about this important point. They are concerned about the fact that this government simply does not understand that this project will considerably alter the way they travel in and out of suburbs east of Hackney Road.

This project was originally announced as an $80 million project. Today, this is a $160 million project that many people in my local area continue to be very frustrated by. When the Public Works Committee examined the O-Bahn project on Monday 21 September, I took the opportunity to outline the main concerns of local residents that still need to be addressed, and I wish to put these concerns back on the record today:

firstly, to provide a U-turn capability between Plane Tree Drive and North Terrace;

secondly, to facilitate safe pedestrian access to and from Hackney and the Botanic Gardens;

thirdly, to allow right-hand turns out of Hackney during non-peak hours; and

finally, to establish a keep clear zone on North Terrace adjacent to Osborne Street.

These are all what I consider to be reasonable requests. They are not vexatious: they are the reasonable requests of concerned local residents. These are genuine areas of concern that I, as a local member, do not believe have been adequately addressed by this minister or this government. Failure to address these issues is going to result in significant changes for local residents.

It is the sign of an arrogant, out-of-touch government that it starts a project without the entire array of concerns even being addressed. This project is still being examined by a dedicated parliamentary select committee, yet the government has already begun construction before the committee has handed down its findings.

I would like to thank the local community, especially the Hackney Residents Association, led by Serena Culls, who addressed the select committee and has taken, I believe, a mature attitude towards this project, always working respectfully to arrive at reasonable solutions to identified local problems. This is a significant issue for the local community. I have been grateful to work with all of them and I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge their hard work.

My position is clear: I am without doubt a strong advocate for a quality public transport system. It goes without saying that of course commuter safety is of upmost importance, but this argument must be used for both pedestrians and motorists alike. We acknowledge that work on this project has already started, but it is not too late to resolve these local concerns.

I ask the minister and the department to put themselves in the shoes of residents in my electorate, in particular, Hackney, College Park, Kent Town and St Peters—the people who will be most affected by this project. These local issues must be resolved. I implore the minister to look at them. We need to continue to work hard to resolve them, and that is exactly what I plan to keep doing.

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