Playford community members call for vital infrastructure upgrades as growth outpaces investment

A northern suburbs community is living in fear of possible tragedy as the region’s population grows and the infrastructure stays the same.

A northern suburbs mum and former Playford councillor fears traffic congestion on key roads in the area could put her 13-year-old daughter’s life at risk because of potential delays to emergency services.

Cathy-Jo Tame’s daughter Meisha has a rare mutation of the BRAT1 gene, is on palliative care and suffers seizures, which can result in the need for an ambulance.

But Ms Tame is concerned congestion on roads in the Playford Council area could delay emergency services, leaving her daughter in danger.

Locals in the Angle Vale area have seen first-hand how quickly Playford has grown over the years and say the roads have not been upgraded to accommodate the new residents and associated traffic. Picture Dean Martin

“It can be between life and death with Meisha,” she said.

“If she’s had a grand mal seizure, and she’s still going and nothing is stopping her, it could cause a lot more permanent brain damage and deterioration.”

Ms Tame, who served as an elected member from 2018 to 2022, is part of a multipronged campaign calling for investment and upgrades to infrastructure around in the council area, where residents and local government representatives say investment is lagging behind growth.

According to council, Playford is “experiencing unprecedented growth” with an average of 10 new residents moving into the area daily.

A community petition backed by Ms Tame is now calling for critical upgrades to Curtis, Heaslip and Womma Roads, which she and others say no longer safely accommodate the volume of traffic on roads in the council area.

“Increased traffic means increased risk of accidents as the volume of traffic has not been accommodated for. Emergency service vehicles arrival during critical call outs are severely affected due to congestion on our roads, resulting in the risk of potential death,” the petition states.

The changes they’re calling for include dual lane upgrades to parts of Curtis and Womma Roads and a dual lane roundabout for intersection of Curtis and Heaslip Roads, among other changes.

Local residents (LtoR) Bronwyn Coulter, Cathy-Jo Tame, Jon Raymond, and Sarah Baker are campaigning for significant investment into the Playford Council area to fix key roads with debris from a recent accident. Picture Dean Martin

MacDonald Park resident Bronwyn Coulter, who started the petition, said she fears if nothing is done “lives are going to be lost”.

Ms Coulter said she was inspired to start the petition “due to the growing frustration of the local community and the increasing number of accidents occurring on these roads”, adding that she’s been in a number of near misses along them herself.

She’s aiming to collect 10,000 signatures to get the matter before a parliamentary inquiry.

The petition complements council efforts to accelerate investment into infrastructure.

Last month, elected members unanimously voted to lobby state MPs, urging government to change the way they fund growth infrastructure in the region by using debt funding to bring forward infrastructure projects.

Deputy Mayor Clint Marsh, who put forward the motion, said many infrastructure projects in the area are funded through a combination of council, state government and developer contributions. But he added that the state currently needs to receive the developer contributions before it builds some of the needed infrastructure.

“What we need to stop doing is delivering the infrastructure after the establishment of growth,” he said.

Infrastructure Minister Tom Koutsantonis accused council of “trying to pass the buck”, adding that Curtis Road is a council responsibility and the state government was waiting on the local body to complete the required planning work for the asset.

Mr Koutsantonis said the state government was “well aware” of the north’s existing and future transport infrastructure needs and was “taking a consolidated approach through the ongoing Northern Adelaide Transport Study to inform future transport planning and investment in the region.”

But Cr Marsh said Curtis Road has grown from a local connecting road to a major arterial feeder to the Northern Expressway and Main North Road and needed to be transferred to the state government.

“It is beyond a local government capacity to fund an upgrade of that local road to a dual lane,” he said.