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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-10-20 Daily Xml
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Hahndorf Traffic Improvement Project

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (15:27): On 13 July 2018, the federal government announced it would commit $1 million for a Hahndorf township strategic traffic planning study, aimed at identifying and assessing options to address congestion, connectivity, freight efficiency and safety in and around Hahndorf. Note that this was the former Liberal federal government.

Hahndorf is one of South Australia's premier tourist destinations and hosts around one million visitors each year. The main street, for example, carries approximately 11,000 vehicles per day, including 600 commercial vehicles and 480 heavy vehicles. The volume of traffic in Hahndorf grows by around 2 per cent each year; 300 peak hour road users have no purpose in the main street of Hahndorf.

The Australian government contributed $200 million to the Hahndorf Township Improvements and Access Upgrade Project in its 2020-21 budget, with $50 million from the Marshall state Liberal government. Under the Marshall Liberal government, there were three additional short-listed options in April 2021:

a full interchange at River Road and a new link road connecting Echunga Road and River Road. This would have provided direct access for motorists travelling in all directions, significantly improved emergency service access and created alternate routes for heavy vehicles;

a half interchange at River Road and a link road connecting Echunga Road and River Road. This would have provided direct access for motorists travelling south, north and east and would have created alternate routes for heavy vehicles; and

a full interchange at Verdun with a link road connecting Echunga Road and River Road. This would have provided direct access for motorists travelling east and created alternate routes for some vehicles that currently pass through the main street of Hahndorf. This option would not have removed all necessary trips through Hahndorf.

In November 2021, a fourth community-led option was developed following a review of the feedback and input from the local community. I want to pay absolute homage to the work of Malcolm Kentish and the people of Hahndorf in having these options reviewed and getting this fourth option up.

The proposal was a new interchange in the Paechtown area, including a new freeway underpass, new connector road between Mount Barker Road and Echunga Road and on/off ramps providing full access towards the east and west. There was never a final or preferred option out of these four before the 2022 state election; however, all of them included the creation of a bypass in some form.

Labor's updated plans for the project include no heavy vehicle bypass whatsoever. It will simply upgrade the existing interchanges at Verdun and Mount Barker, and in no way is this going to alleviate the congestion in Hahndorf, which was the point of the whole project. This problem will likely only be exacerbated when works on the upgrade of Hahndorf's main street commence. It seems like the minister has only engaged with a very small percentage of the Hahndorf community because, from what I have read and heard, it is certainly not the outcome residents of Hahndorf hoped for after many years of consultation.

My colleague and the member for Heysen, Josh Teague, has met with local groups of residents of Hahndorf and Paechtown, and they have made it very clear to him that the updated project will not solve the traffic issues originally identified. I understand the Hahndorf Community Association is extremely disappointed with this decision, considering all the work they put in to finding a workable solution to congestion and parking issues in the town. These issues are very readily identifiable to anyone going through Hahndorf on a busy day.

The transport minister did not even consult with the local member. He consulted with the member for Kavel and got the local member wrong and did not have any consultation with the member for Heysen. As the shadow minister for regional roads, I would certainly like to know what the federal member for Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie, thinks about this and see whether she is willing to stand up to make sure that Hahndorf residents get the solution that they deserve and fully believe in.

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