Playford Council is asking for Curtis Rd management to be transferred to the state govt

A notorious intersection which has seen 56 crashes in its time has been slammed by its council, who fault “impatient” drivers, and want to hand the problem off.

A group of Playford councillors have collectively flagged safety concerns for the intersection of Curtis and Peachey roads in Munno Para, saying it's both unsafe and not supporting the growing traffic.

Councillor Cathy-Jo Tame said the intersection which saw 56 crashes between 2015 and 2019 is both confusing and extremely frustrating.

“You’ve got a lot of impatient school people, Curtis Rd is so congested in peak hours, traffic will be backed up the whole way and it can take half an hour to get from one end of (it) to the next,” said Ms Tame.

The group of councillors want of Curtis Rd handed over to the state government so it can fund the large-scale project of duplication, which they say is necessary.

A Playford Council diagram describing the operation of the intersection. Picture supplied

Councillor Marilyn Baker said the council has been trying to negotiate for years with the state government for years on the proposal.

“They’ve really been dragging the chain on that and avoiding it, but we’re hopeful we are pretty near a solution with them,” she said.

The sentiment was echoed by Councillor Akram Arifi who said it would be beyond council budget to undertake the necessary works to solve congestion and safety issues.

Councillor Clint Marsh who has been outspoken on the need to develop areas in the North to accommodate new population growth said while its hoped that may occur in future they are looking at short term fixes.

“In the interim raising the traffic light masts and extending the right hand turning lane at the Peachey Road intersection may reduce the number of accidents,” he said.

The council has submitted grant funding applications for these upgrades, which will act as a short term solution.

Playford councillors at the intersection of Curtis and Peachey roads in Munno Para. Picture Jason Katsaras

“48 of the recorded crashes were rear end crashes or a result of turning right at the intersection, we have liaised with the department for transport and signalled right hand turns during off peak times, ” Mr Marsh said.

“This has been deemed a growth area, it's no use developing all of this infrastructure once we have thousands more residents as part of the number of housing developments, about being proactive.”

One local motorist Kerrie Flaz took to Facebook saying while she’s concerned about the Peachey-Curtis road intersection the Heaslip-Curtis intersection is more concerning.

Collectively the group of councillors said they are asking for the community to be vigilant when transiting through the intersection, and travelling along Curtis Rd generally.
Over 3,000 residents have signed a petition calling for Curtis Road to be upgraded.