RADIO NEWS & TALKBACK PRECIS
Morning / Lunch Period (9am–1pm)
Thursday 24 February 2022
RADIO TALKBACK
Jayne Stinson, Member for Badcoe (FIVEaa 9.23-9.27) Opposition to upgrade of Goodwood railway station tram overpass
(Goodings: … a $25 million of the Goodwood railway station tram overpass to accommodate a bike way has been given the green light. While cyclists are happy about it, there are many locals who aren’t. Jayne Stinson … why the concern?) … what people have been raising with me are a number of different concerns. On one hand I’ve got people saying this project has taken ages, it’s been years and years, it was initially a project of the former Labor Government, so it’s been dragging on and they want to see it happy, and we do need upgraded cycling infrastructure and I’m supportive of that; but other people in Forestville, and I’m a Forestville resident myself – I live right near where this thing’s being built – are saying this is a massive structure, it’s really overkill, it’s a huge structure for something that is meant to be carrying cyclists and the fact that it necessitates the removal of 50 trees, trees that right now have koalas perched in them, is something that’s really quite shocking to people in my neighbourhood. We’ve got some green space loss as a result as well and if you’ve ever been down to Forestville reserve … you’ll find it’s a beautiful relaxing place, it’s a beautiful ambience to it and I very much enjoy spending my time there … to have that stripped away and replaced with a large concrete structure is really something that’s very concerning for people. I think overall, people are concerned about the consultation process. There really wasn’t one. We were told a little bit about what the project was going to be before Christmas and now it’s come to pass that we’re finding out about these tree losses and green space losses and the thing is apparently meant to be constructed within weeks … all of those things combined have meant that my community, and particularly Forestville residents, are very concerned about this – they want more information and they want the opportunity to be heard about the tree and green space losses and also concerns about safety and the scope and size of the project. (Goodings: …I heard there was a concern about safety … why are people at risk because of this bike way?) People have been raising with me that they’re concerned about the interaction between bicycles, some of which travel quite fast, maybe they shouldn’t but they do, and wheelchairs using the same pathway and also people with children in prams and also the interaction between people leaving elevators and where the bike ways actually spill into car parks and roads in our area so there’s all those sorts of concerns … maybe some of those concerns can or should be dealt with by the Department, the Infrastructure and Transport Department, but people in my community and I myself am not getting any answers from the Department about how these things are going to be dealt with and whether the concerns that have been raised are actually going to be addressed, and I think that’s really disappointing to just be told look this thing’s happening and to see very little evidence that the feedback people have given hasn’t really been taken on board and that now there are these new concerns because we’ve only just become aware of certain aspects of the project. I for one would love to see whatever it is that’s going to be built built as soon as possible, but $25 million – surely we could take a little bit more care to take into account the impact that such a big structure is going to have on our local community and maybe just a few more weeks wouldn’t kill us to be able to take everyone’s ideas and concerns into account and build something that really adds to our community rather than causes problems for some people. (Goodings: …thanks for that …)
Ash Taylor, Goodwood Resident (FIVEaa 9.27-9.28) Opposition to upgrade of Goodwood railway station tram overpass
(Goodings: …Ash Taylor … are you for or against the bike way?) Definitely against. If you want to know more information, go to forestvillepark.com.au and a good thing to note is this design is actually completely different from the November design that people might have looked at. It’s nothing like South Road, it’s go a huge gap between the existing tram way and this one, it’s got a curved ramp that means people will go fast, it doesn’t lead into bike paths, it leads into small, narrow, congested streets and it also funnels a lot of people through a 1.8 m tunnel that people with prams and walking and all kinds of things use to get to the park and the swimming pool and the train station. So, there’s quite a few collision points that are actually going to get created by this project. On top of that it’s a huge cement eyesore in one of the most beautiful places this side of the city. (Goodings: … thank you …)
Selina Fleuri [phonetic], Goodwood Resident (FIVEaa 9.28-9.30) Opposition to upgrade of Goodwood railway station tram overpass
(Goodings: …Selina Fleuri [phonetic] … what are your feelings about the proposed bike way?) … I certainly think … an upgrade through the underpass would be necessary, make it wider and more inviting but I don’t see how that overpass will improve the travelling experience of pedestrians and bicyclists but we’ve seen that on other … the shores of Adelaide where nature, bike and shared path improvement that have been done there’s been an increase of people travelling on bicycles which has created confrontation or frustration for both bicyclists and pedestrians. We know that once a large straight line exists it’s very hard for bicycles to reduce speed and follow road rules which is giving priority to pedestrians at all times and also the park is really beautiful, serene area – there is nothing like that around – and it’s used by people to come and picnic, lie down on the grass, because there is such amount of tall trees that create a beautiful cooling place, very well shaded, and what is going to remove is actually most of the tallest trees in the park will be gone. (Goodings: …thank you …)