Plans to improve traffic safety, access to popular tourist town Hahndorf will do the opposite, according to the opposition

A plan to improve traffic safety and access to popular SA tourist destination Hahndorf misses the mark and exacerbates the existing congestion issue, according to a community leader.

Member for Heysen Josh Teague, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Vincent Tarzia and Shadow Minister for Regional Roads Adrian Pederick inspect the Hahndorf main street.

Plans to improve traffic safety and access to the popular tourist village Hahndorf will instead cause “dangerous congestion” in the town’s main street, according to some community leaders.

Last month, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis announced the government had finalised its consultation on the Hahndorf Township Improvements and Access Project and would scrap a proposed highway interchange near Hahndorf due to feedback regarding the impact it would have on the surrounding environment, heritage, business and property.

Instead, the government will focus on upgrading the existing Verdun and Mount Barker interchanges while safety upgrades and improvements to Hahndorf’s main street would go ahead as planned.

Member for Heysen Josh Teague, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Vincent Tarzia and Shadow Minister for Regional Roads Adrian Pederick inspect the Hahndorf main street.

However, Hahndorf Community Association secretary Gail Vort-Ronald said the community had been lobbying for at least 20 years to get heavy traffic away from the main street and the government’s revised plan did nothing to address the issue.

“The core of the whole project was the removal of the heavy traffic … now what Mr Koutsantonis has decided, the core issue is too hard, the removal of the heavy vehicles and he’ll do the light and fluffy stuff … money was allocated for the bypass and we asked for an off-on ramp.”

Ms Vort-Ronald said residents were concerned about the growth of surrounding Hills communities and the burden the narrow main street had to carry so much traffic, particularly in a high bushfire risk area.

“In the 25 years I’ve lived in Hahndorf the amount of traffic in the town has increased exponentially … an on-off ramp would give us a viable alternative for places like Echunga and Meadows that are sending more and more people to the South Eastern Freeway and they are using Hahndorf to access it,” she said.

“Poor little Hahndorf is a tiny little village that was never built for the amount of traffic it carries.

“We’ve watched bushfires come scarily close and Hahndorf has that little narrow street ... a truck and a caravan on that street together and the whole thing is blocked.

“You are building up a disastrous situation.”

The opposition also slammed the government’s revised plans, saying the proposed solutions “completely missed the mark and go nowhere near the purpose of the project” set out by the former government.

Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Vincent Tarzia said the new works were only part of the original plan and, without more, would make the congestion in Hahndorf worse.

“The purpose of the interchange project is to divert heavy vehicles from the main street of Hahndorf but this updated design will just make it easier for vehicles to funnel through the town from the South Eastern Freeway,” he said.

“I’m sure a lot of us have driven through the main street of Hahndorf with a truck coming the other way and feared we might get side swiped.”

Member for Heysen Josh Teague said he met with local groups and residents of Hahndorf since the state government’s announcement and it was “clear that the community has been short-changed”.

“I join with locals including the Hahndorf Community Association expressing our dismay that despite years of work, serious consideration, and through ongoing engagement directed at solving the problem, the proposed works are inadequate and without more will make the problem worse,” he said.

Addressing the concerns in parliament on Tuesday, October 18, Mr Koutsantonis said the government had acted based on the needs of the community.

An artist impression of a new pedestrian crossing set to be part of the Hahndorf Township Improvement and Access Upgrade Project.

“You will hear from the opposition that our plan misses the mark, as you can see from their interjections, and goes against the purpose of the project … their only concern would be the commuters looking to bypass Hahndorf and that they would ignore the needs of the Hahndorf community,” he said.

Mr Koutsantonis read a statement from the Paech family of Beerenberg Farms who supported the scrapping of the interchange.

“The Paech family welcomes the announcement by the State Government not to pursue the Hahndorf [interchange] option, which would have [had] a devastating impact on the iconic Beerenberg Farm,” he read.

“Six generations of our family have been farming this land since 1839 and growing pick your own strawberries since the late 1970s, which has become a highly popular and world-renowned tourism experience.”

Mr Koutsantonis said the government was taking a balanced approach.

“Our approach will balance the needs of Adelaide Hills commuters while protecting and enhancing local heritage, business and the environment,” he said.

“Upgrades to the Verdun and Mount Barker interchanges will reduce future traffic impacts on Hahndorf, including heavy vehicles.

“Now that the scope and high-level concept design has been finalised, the next step is developing a detailed design, and feedback from the community will help shape this detailed design.”