Chaotic Springbank Road intersection a political football in an election year
Confusion and frustration surrounds plans — or the lack thereof — to finally resolve issues with the notorious Goodwood, Springbank and Daws road intersection.
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Confusion and frustration surrounds plans — or the lack thereof — to finally resolve issues with the notorious Goodwood, Springbank and Daws road intersection.
Politicians of both major parties agree the chaotic road layout severely slows traffic flow, creates congestion and causes safety risks.
But Neil Baron, from Panorama Clapham Community Association, said the once-priority project, which could have cost as much as $30 million, had stalled — with no clear direction ahead.
“Right now, the average person doesn’t know what’s happening,” Mr Baron said.
“But it doesn’t seem anyone else does either.
“We were told by Labor in 2017 this was financed and ready to go, but it seems all we have left is some political grandstanding.”
In response to the Weatherill government’s announcement of the intersection upgrade in the 2017/18 state budget, the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) proposed a realignment of the current staggered T-junctions.
DPTI’s plan eliminated the dog leg from Springbank Rd to Daws Rd and created a better approach from Springbank to Goodwood Rd.
But news the project was dropped by the new Marshall government in its first budget dismayed local residents, and even caught some Liberals off-side.
Liberal MPs Nicolle Flint, Sam Duluk and Carolyn Power are running a “Fix Springbank Intersection campaign” — complete with a website and public petition — saying they want to “ensure this project is delivered as quickly as possible”.
The trio told a public meeting in December they were working with state Transport Minister Stephan Knoll to develop a detailed plan with costings.
In addition, Ms Flint said she was lobbying the Federal Transport Minister for funding.
DPTI figures show, on average, more than 60,000 vehicles a day travel through the intersection, where there were 21 crashes between 2012 and 2016, causing 24 casualties.
Mr Baron, who lives on Boothby St, Panorama, just a street back from the intersection, said the DPTI figures only revealed part of the problem.
“The biggest problem is all the ‘rat-running’ people do, travelling at 90km/h down residential backstreets to dodge the bottleneck,” he said.
“It’s incredibly dangerous. We ask the police, and they nail a few, but say they can’t do that all the time.
“We put up with this every day. There’s been an increase of traffic through the area and it will get worst with completion of the Darlington interchange.
“We’ve got a Federal election coming up, so it would be lovely to see Nicolle come up with a solution and a cheque.
“For now, as a community, we don’t know what are the stumbling blocks? Is it lack of money, is it lack or will or is it Bedford Industries? We need clarity.”
Bedford Industries, which operates on land directly opposite the intersection, said it was open to discussing the acquisition of its land.
“Despite the complexities of moving our main operations centre, Bedford would welcome discussions with the State Government and other stakeholders on this issue,” chief executive Maggie Dowling said.
“We are committed to providing diverse job opportunities, training and building life skills through social programs for people with disability for many years to come.”
Labor said the exact amount it had budgeted for the project was not publicly announced due to “compulsory acquisition costs”.
Mitcham Council has produced a plan for the future of the Springfield, Daws and Goodwood roads precinct that calls the intersection realignment “a priority”.
It estimated the project to cost $30 million.
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