Call for kiss and drop zone at ‘unsafe’ Tea Tree Plaza interchange

COMMUTER access at the “unsafe” Tea Tree Plaza bus interchange desperately needs to be improved, councillors and bus passengers say.

• Parking fines up 20 per cent at Westfield Tea Tree Plaza
• More than 300 car spaces to ease parking issues at Tea Tree Plaza
• Tea Tree Plaza to get new restaurants and premium dine-in cinema
• Adelaide commuters praise new $160 million O-Bahn tunnel

COMMUTER access at the “unsafe” Tea Tree Plaza bus interchange desperately needs to be improved, councillors and bus passengers say.

Tea Tree Gully council voted last week to lobby the State Government and Tea Tree Plaza owners Westfield to consider a designated “kiss and drop” area between the interchange and the shopping centre.

Tea Tree Plaza kiss and drop zone proposal.

But the Transport Department says it has no responsibility and upgrades would need to be approved by Westfield, who did not reply to questions from the NorthEastern Weekly before deadline.

It comes as the council considers spending $60,000 on a transport plan for the Modbury precinct, including improvements to the O-Bahn.

Several councillors told last week’s meeting the design and location of the interchange made it hard for pedestrians to access buses safely.

Cr Matthew Harbinson said he had seen many “unsafe” acts from commuters accessing the interchange.

“I’ve seen people jump the fence,” he said.

Cr Lucas Jones said more people used the Modbury interchange than Paradise and Klemzig and those two interchanges had designated “kiss and drop” areas.

“The only designated ‘kiss and drop’ area is on Smart Rd, which is a five-minute walk away and is for most parts not under shelter,” he said. “I am hopeful that the Transport Department and Westfield will work together on this.”

He said commuters had been using the western side of the interchange for an unofficial drop-off area until the yellow fence was installed.

Florey MP Frances Bedford understood the fence had been built by Westfield in January 2016 and “the whole area needs a complete redesign”.

“There’s a glaring yellow fence keeping commuters away,” she said.

“The patient commuters of the northeast need (the) council to get the department to sort this mess with Westfield.”

Drone aerial footage of Tea Tree Plaza Plaza. Picture: AAP/Roy VanDerVegt

Commuter David Stoeckel said the interchange was a “hazard”.

“Many commuters are inconvenienced and forced to put up with a dysfunctional design,” he said.

“There should be a direct path for pedestrians to the adjacent carpark.

“Instead they are confronted with a giant yellow fence and guard rails.”

Fellow user Bridget Barletta said there was no easy access to the carparks from the interchange.

Minister for Transport and Infrstructure Stephen Mullighan said the government looked forward to receiving more detail from the council on designated “kiss and drop” zone options.