$4.2 million McLaren Vale road safety plan delivers

A community south of Adelaide continues to mourn a series of serious crashes, including two deaths, which rocked the region. Now a plan has been unveiled to make the area’s roads safer.

A series of notorious intersections in Adelaide’s south will receive a massive overhaul as part of a $4.2 million road safety package, following several tragic crashes in the region.

The Department for Infrastructure and Transport will work with the City of Onkaparinga to review 21 intersections following the council’s 2021 intersection audit, aiming to reduce the number of fatalities in the region.

For years, local residents have been screaming out for more to be done after a number of intersections experienced fatal crashes, the most recent being Ivy-Rose Hughes, who was on her way home from a concert, as well as local primary school teacher Bernice Sternberg.

City of Onkaparinga acting CEO Julia Grant said the upgrades would undoubtedly save lives in the future.

“While our audit found these intersections comply with safety standards and minimum road safety requirements, we identified improvements that could be made, and advocated to the State Government to help us deliver the upgrades,” Ms Grant said.

“The entire community was deeply affected by recent tragedies, and we’re doing everything we can to improve safety for all users of our road network.

“We all have a part to play to reduce the prevalence of injury and trauma, and to ensure we all get home safe.”

The locations, proposed treatments and project timing were identified during the audit with innovative solutions being considered to reduce the potential for crashes.

A compact roundabout, the first of its kind to be investigated in South Australia, is being assessed for the intersection of Chalk Hill Road, Olivers Road and Field Street.

This site was identified as the highest-risk site of the 21 intersections and if deemed suitable, it will combine the safety benefits of a roundabout with raised platforms to slow vehicles down as they approach the intersection.

It is also likely to be less costly to build than a conventional roundabout due to its smaller footprint.

19 year old netballer Ivy-Rose Hughes was killed in a motor accident at McLaren Vale. Picture: Matrics Netball Club

McLaren Vale teacher Bernice Sternberg. Picture: Facebook

Member for Mawson Leon Bignell made the announcement on Wednesday as a part of his Malinauskas Labor Government pledge in the lead up to the March state election.

“Our local area was shattered last year when we had a series of fatal and serious injury crashes in the McLaren Vale region caused by inattention or poor driving,” Mr Bignell said.

“It has been terrific to see the high level of co-operation between the state government and the City of Onkaparinga as we all strive to save lives and reduce serious crash numbers.”

Both the Department for Infrastructure and Transport and the City of Onkaparinga have individual and shared responsibility for roads in the area, with the Department responsible for roads such as Main and Aldinga Roads, while council is responsible for adjoining local roads.

Designs are expected to be completed in 2023, with upgrades anticipated to be completed by June 2024.