An extensive public engagement program is underway, giving South Australians opportunities to provide valuable feedback on the revamped River Torrens to Darlington Project.
Feedback on the redesigned project, unveiled last month, has been overwhelmingly positive thus far, with a vast 71 per cent of respondents declaring themselves positive or very positive about the new plans – and more than half saying they felt more positive as a result of changes to the previous design released by the former government.
The State Government has now initiated a ‘pop-up’ information stall, which is touring four major Adelaide suburban shopping centres, as well as a series of 45-minute information sessions about the project to be held at key community centres.
People are also able to book one-to-one meetings – either in-person or via video – with project staff at venues broadly situated along the motorway’s 10.5 kilometre route.
In December, the State Government unveiled revised plans for the project that improve connectivity and safety, while safeguarding the fabric of local communities near and along the corridor.
Once finished, the co-federal-funded project will complete 78 km of non-stop motorway between Gawler and Old Noarlunga, and allow motorists to avoid 21 existing sets of traffic lights between the River Torrens and Darlington.
The drive from West Hindmarsh to Darlington will take just nine minutes, saving 30 to 40 minutes of travel time during peak-hour traffic.
The ‘pop-up’ information stall at shopping centres – which includes maps, images and animations, as well as project staff on hand to answer questions – kicked off at Castle Plaza, Edwardson last week, receiving 1707 visitors.
Many of these contributed to an ongoing survey of community responses to the project, which has yielded the following results from around 600 respondents:
Overall attitude towards project:
71% either positive or very positive
17% unsure or neutral
12% negative or very negative
Has your attitude changed as a result of the changes?
51% more positive
37% feel the same
12% more negative
How useful have you found the info available?
74% useful
20% neutral
6% not useful
The ‘pop-up’ stall will continue from this week at the following locations:
Marion – 23-28 January, 9am-5pm, closed public holiday 26 January
Churchill Centre (Kilburn) – 30 January-4 February, 9am-5pm, extended trading Thursday
Kurralta Park – 31 January-2 February, 9am-5pm, extended trading Thursday.
A total of 10 information sessions, each 45 minutes long, will be held at two locations:
T2D Community Information Centre – 1194 South Road, Clovelly Park, on 4 and 7 February
West Adelaide Football Club – Milner Road, Richmond, on 9 and 11 February.
The Project’s two drop-in Community Information Centres – the southern one on South Road at Clovelly Park and a northern one at the Brickworks Marketplace at Torrensville – have been visited by hundreds of people since their opening in December.
More details about the opening hours of the Information Centres, the schedule for the ‘pop-up’ stalls and the booking of meetings can be obtained by visiting the project website or calling 1300 951 145.