Seacliff residents fight closure of Pine Ave railway crossing planned by SA Transport Department
PLANS to close off two pedestrian crossings in Adelaide’s south west have angered local residents who say it makes catching public transport more difficult – and less safe – than it should be.
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CLOSING a Seacliff railway crossing will get rid of an important community connection, a group of local residents says.
Holdfast Bay councillors also oppose closing the Pine Ave pedestrian crossing.
The State Government wants to close it while upgrading five other crossings along the Seaford line, none of which are nearby.
Kinda Snyder started a petition calling for it to remain open two weeks ago and already has 50 signatures on paper and 150 online.
Jan Purnell, 75, and Shirley Whittaker, 84, use the crossing to get from their houses on the western side of the train tracks to catch the bus on Brighton Rd, where this is a pedestrian-activated crossing.
Mrs Purnell said closing the crossing would make her walk longer and steeper.
“We should have easy access to public transport and not have to walk miles,” Mrs Purnell said.
When the closure was announced in May, the State Government said all five crossings to be closed had “nearby, safer alternatives”.
There is a level crossing about 200m north at Maitland Tce and a bridge over the tracks at Singleton Rd, about 300m south.
In addition to the longer distance to walk, Mrs Whittaker said if the crossing was closed, she would have to get off at a different bus stop and without traffic lights.
“I don’t think I could make it,” Mrs Whittaker said.
She said no one had ever been hit at the crossing in all her 64 years living nearby.
The Transport Department says the crossings to close by the end of the year “pose safety risks”.
The other four are at King St, Brighton; Carlton St, Oaklands Park; and at the Hallett Cove and Christie Downs railway stations.
Crossings where electronic gates and buzzers will be installed include Seventh Ave, Hove; Beach Rd and Dunluce Ave, Brighton; and at the Hove and Christie Downs stations.
The work will cost $2.5 million.
Transport Department staff explained the reasons for the closures at a workshop before last week’s Holdfast Bay Council meeting.
They said it could be hard to see trains coming around the corner south of the Pine Ave crossing.
Trains were going up to 90km/h there because it was halfway between two stations.
Seacliff Ward councillor Lynda Yates said most elected members were still against closing the Pine Ave crossing.
“It’s got the Seacliff Primary School opposite and it allows children with their parents to go across the railway line and it’s not a particularly dangerous crossing,” Cr Yates said.
She said residents living very close to the crossing she had spoken to would prefer it to be closed rather than installing noisy buzzers warning pedestrians of approaching trains.
Seacliff Primary School has a policy banning teachers using the crossing to walk students to the beach.