Gawler East link road has finally received the green light, Bunnyip Reported

COUNCIL DECIDES: After more than 10 years of planning, the Gawler East link road has finally received the green light, with councillors deciding on a route for the bypass last night. Elected members voted in favour of the revised Eckerman alignment, 5-4, which will divert traffic from Springwood Estate to Potts Road via Eckerman Avenue. Are you happy with the decision? Attach a Photo · Mention Friends Wayne Krollig Potts Road?? Idiots. Absolutely stupid idea. Needs to continue past Potts to Bentley Rd, then the "new" lights at Tiver Rd will actually be useful. Like · 39 people · Reply · Report · 9 hours ago Allana Cruise replied · 3 replies Jodie Exindaris Oh I get it now we do this and it will take the congestion away from the main street and your front doors but we'll just put it somewhere else so you don't have to look at it .WAKE UP YOU MOB OF DUMB ARSES this is the entry into gawler you have three bloody schools and this is where the congestion starts .tell ya what someone take over plz. Like · 5 people · Reply · Report · 9 hours ago Kym Louise Council have not been transparent with the community throughout this process. An extension to Tiver road was never a part of the plan, the funding even stipulated the use of Potts road but council were never clear about this. They instead insinuated to the community that by supporting councils options they were the "Tiver Road options". Council have stated in council meetings that Tiver road may never happen and if it does it won't be for 20 years (after Concordia is completed). They haven't told rate payers that their choice is so far over budget that they have had to strip the road back to cut costs - it will be a lower grade road which will require constant resurfacing, minimal lighting, no footpaths, no parking bays etc (far from the tree lined scenic road Gawler was told they would be getting). By choosing the Eckerman alignment they also went against every recommendation made by the experts and contractors employed to find the best alignment (minimal impacts on environment and people, costs etc) and they neglected to take into account the community feedback from the consultations held (which 75% of respondents favoured the DPTI route). The Eckerman alignment affects the most people, 18 home owners will now face land acquisitions. Gawler Council is a disappointment. Edited · Like · 3 people · Reply · Report · 5 hours ago Howard Hogan Can I encourage everyone who is against this idea and have been vocal on this post, take your concerns direct to council. Don't wait until the work starts. Stop this plan now. Force them to take the diversion to Tiver Road. Like · 1 person · Reply · Report · 1 hour ago Marg Clarke I'm not surprised at all , OTR was asked to move their Gas Tank over further from the corner because Council wanted to expand Potts Rd Corner. But now I'm wondering what happens to the homes on Potts Rd and if they are not effected by the expansion surely the noise of the extra traffic will Like · 2 people · Reply · Report · 10 hours ago Sandra Taylor I give up going through the town on my way home to Hewett from work I hit Gawler at 4.20 - 4.30pm traffic is banked up to the racetrack. If I don't have to stop in town for something I take the bypass. I think this bypass to Gawler east needs to start at least at Tiver Road Like · 8 people · Reply · Report · 9 hours ago Katie Dow Is this gonna create more traffic through the streets of Springwood Estate as we've paid half million dollars to live in an estate to enjoy the serenity, it's bad enough that all the residents are dealing with the weekend yogo road hogs at the reserve and are causing potential car accidents cause they can't park or use their common sense so adding more traffic into the estate is great idea 👎🏼 Like · Reply · Report · 9 hours ago Lyndall Bain Having lived near Potts Road for over 30 years, I can truly say that this decision is crazy and short-sighted. I gather it is the seemingly cheaper alternative, but in the end we will need option B as well. This has confirmed that our choice to move out of the chaos near Potts Road was a very wise decision. Like · Reply · Report · 54 minutes ago Steve Cleland What a bloody joke, this council, how many millions did the state government pay to upgrade the tiver road intersection, this isn't a bypass road this will now just add more issues to an already poorly designed area. I'd like to hear the reasoning for their decision? I'm sure this council pass the bottle around during meetings Like · 6 people · Reply · Report · 9 hours ago David Heintze The decision just goes to show you can't educate stupid.... Bringing the traffic out in the middle of an already congested area. I guess that will be someone else's problem then. Like · 6 people · Reply · Report · 9 hours ago Sue London replied · 1 reply Renae Townley Unfortunately its going to take someone being killed for the council to pull their heads in and fix the congestion around the new Bunnings / Coles / Hungry Jacks / Aldi / OTR area. With all these new shops etc opening plus the schools its just a nightmare trying to get through to Gawler and in and out of these shops. The lights on Tiver Road were put in due to the new housing estates being built near it BUT this would be the perfect intersection to filter the traffic, those heading the Springwood and beyond can take Tiver road, those living in Gawler can then proceed through Gawler with no delays. The intersection at Coles/Aldi should have had lights or at least been a round about to keep the flow of traffic going. Again, the big wigs make the plans but have absolutely no idea how stupid they are! Like · 3 people · Reply · Report · 7 hours ago Penny Williamson State government have not funded any extension from Potts Road to Tiver Road. Why? It was never in their plan. This road is suppose to be for the Springwood community to move further south, originally going through state government land to allow that to also be sold off and developed. The decision by council affects 18 landowners and disrupts people living in rural living property’s. Why? Because Council think that they can then change the state government decision. The decision was based on some pretty shaky “facts” pushed by one or two councillors as being “true” which ignored the multiple reports by actual experts about which route was the safest and most practical. They also ignored the environmental factors (emissions, significant trees lost, etc), road design factors (road gradient of a maximum of 5% - Eckerman is 9%) and many others. There were two community consultation periods (first in May 2016, then again in Sept 2016). Did you miss your opportunity to have a say? Did you chose not to respond? Maybe then you are to blame because you didn’t say anything. The community who did speak up, all 345, demonstrated a large contingent who wanted the DPTI option (over 250 residents or 75%!). I think this decision is a major mistake by the Gawler Council who have not listened to the experts who stated the best option was not Eckerman Ave. I think the fact that most of the comments here state it should continue to Tiver Road demonstrate the lack of feedback the council have provided to the community. The fact that many landholders originally found out about the road going through their property or past their house was via the bunyip, demonstrates that the council is not communicating effectively with their residents. Lastly, all the options provided by council go down Potts Road. There was no escaping that fact. Yet the community still feel that there is this magic option of going to Tiver. It’s not going to happen. Not unless the State government fund it. Gawler Council financial plans for the next ten years don’t even mention it! Gawler Council certainly won’t be able to afford that after spending extra money on a longer, more unsafe road, and having to acquire private property to do so. Traffic in Gawler will always be an issue. Roads are small, and there’s two rivers which flood approximately every 10 years which force a further problem of not having enough bridges. The Gawler East Link Road is not a bypass of Gawler. If you really want a bypass of Gawler, goodluck. Because this road does not meet the specifications for that, nor was it designed for that. And with the reduced quality (to bring it in on budget), the council are providing you with a bunch of crap to deal with. Like · 2 people · Reply · Report · 4 hours ago Penny McNicholl Council once again showing they have no planning skills let alone common sense. Tiver rd is already equipt with the required infrastructure at Main North Rd why isnt it being utilised!!?? Like · 1 person · Reply · Report · 9 hours ago Nathan Parks Best decision ever for the specific eckerman avenue route for the bypass as now leaves the amazing beauty of dead mans pass alone and roadway on outskirts of the town not through housing developments! Like · 2 people · Reply · Report · 8 hours ago Howard Hogan I was going to share this because I thought great idea, finally some common sense, but alas poor Yorick....what an absurd idea to bring all the traffic down Potts Road. What are you thinking councillors? Use the lights at Tiver Road for crying out loud. Adelaide Road is so congested now. You need to try to turn right out of Coles or the Homemaker centre to see that. Plus the schools. This is lunacy. Like · Reply · Report · 2 hours ago Jane Lambert morons....they made the traffic lights specifically on Tiver rd ...how many millions did that cost and as if that area at the bottom of Potts rd isn't busy enough......crazy decision Like · 1 person · Reply · Report · 9 hours ago Tracey Hubbard Please please fix the intersection at Gawler Green and Aldi!!! Its a nightmare. Especially at school drop off and pick up! The one way road out front of the primary school should be changed to two way to help with the traffic congestion. Please council do something about it! Like · Reply · Report · 26 minutes ago Kylie Sweet-Dalton Have you tried getting out onto the main road from Potts when it's peak, people have to wait until both lanes are free to turn right cause they don't understand they have a separate lane.. DRIVES ME CRAZY 😜 Like · Reply · Report · 5 hours ago Angela O'Loan I have stopped shopping in gawler due to traffic. Leave work head to Munno Para all my shopping done between Aldi and the main center so much easier. Like · 1 person · Reply · Report · 7 hours ago Laura Cousins Why would the road not divert through springwood and then head to the tiver road intersection that millions have been spent on and avoid Gawler all together 🤔 Like · 2 people · Reply · Report · 8 hours ago =============================== Not over yet: residents object to Link Road decision Featured General 1 day ago nov16_8285 RESIDENTS outraged over Gawler Council’s decision to build a major road near their homes have banded together to voice their objection against the project. The residents, who live on Eckerman Avenue, are still fighting to protect their properties, after Gawler Council decided to construct the Gawler East link road past their homes last week. Speaking on behalf of the affected residents, Graeme Williamson said their lives have been in limbo after discovering their properties were in the path of council’s multi-million dollar project. “We were all looking for a quiet, peaceful life on the edge of town with a rural aspect,” he said. “The announcement, last year, that our properties were affected by one or more alignments put many aspects of our future plans in limbo. “This road development will have a huge impact on our lives and yet the council pay scant acknowledgment of this impact. “We have suffered stress and anxiety for the past 17 months, and there is the prospect of it continuing for another 30 months before we can take control of our lives.” The residents are now threatening court action to ensure they are fairly compensated for their land. “Council will now have to deal with up to 18 landowners along Eckerman Avenue taking any land acquisition process through the court system,” Mr Williamson said. “This will be a long, drawn out and costly process for council and the State Government. “Land acquisition law means that the land owners will not bear these costs.” The residents remain bemused as to why the original route recommended by the State Government, or the eastern alternative, were not endorsed, despite 75 per cent of community members supporting the Department of Planning Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) option. “Why have the elected members disregarded the input from the community?,” Mr Williamson said. “So far council has wasted $400,000 on specialist advice, consultants and contractors to provide evidence, which proved that the eastern alternative was the best GELR alignment. “Five council members chose to ignore that advice, wasting ratepayers’ money. “After cost concerns with the link road, the community’s main concerns were with regard to current community impact, land acquisition, travel times and crash risk. “In all of these aspects, both the DPTI and the eastern alternative alignments were proven to be superior to the Eckerman alignment, yet these responses to the community consultation have been ignored in favour of some councillor’s personal preference and unsubstantiated comments. “Why have the elected members placed the importance of flora well above the impact on residents?” Eckerman Avenue, Gawler Council, Gawler East link road Laura Tilley Laura Tilley @ ==================== .. Elaine Symes Elaine Symes This part may be beautiful but we are very disappointed to see that there are blocks being sold so close to the very busy Balmoral /Carlton Road Intersection. This is a very dangerous intersection as the major road does not have right of way. With houses being built right up to the road there is no scope for improving this intersection. What happened to a buffer between the main road and the houses as was the requirement on previous developments in the area. Seems to me it is just greed on the part of the Developer to squeeze as many blocks in as possible. Unlike · Reply · 4 · 19 August at 22:25 .. View 1 more reply .. Springwood Communities - Gawler East Springwood Communities - Gawler East Hi Elaine Symes, thank you for your comment and for expressing your concerns about the current intersection. As part of Springwood's commitment to the area, we are investing in an upgrade of this intersection to address these issues. Once the upgrade is complete, the intersection will be safer and have a speed limit reduction. Our responsibility and priority is to ensure the safety of our residents and those of the wider community, so please be assured that we are making all plans with this in mind, as well as adhering to strict community planning and building regulations, of course. If you would like to discuss anything further with us, one of our team members would be happy to give you a call. Unlike · Reply · 2 · 22 August at 15:08 .. Elaine Symes Elaine Symes Thank you for your reply. Whereas I appreciate your concern is for the Springwood community, I feel that the major concern is for the many commuters travelling from Williamstown, Cockatoo Valley etc to Gawler and beyond. This is now a very busy road and having to give way to the few cars coming from the Eastern end of Carlton Road just does not make sense. The logical thing would be to make the Balmoral/Carlton Road the main thoroughfare with the Eastern end of Carlton Road having a to give way. However, I can't see how this can be possible with houses being build right up to the edge of the road. This will Unlike · Reply · 1 · 22 August at 16:54 .. Elaine Symes Elaine Symes This will leave no scope for future widening of this very busy road. When Hamilton Park was developed, it was a condition that a buffer was left between the houses and the road. This was not only for the safety of the residents, but also to allow for future widening of the road. Because of this, there was no need to reduce the speed limit, thus allowing the traffic to flow through. Surely the speed limit on this busy road will not be reduced to 50 all the way from Balmoral Road. Unlike · Reply · 2 · 22 August at 17:02 .. Springwood Communities - Gawler East Springwood Communities - Gawler East Thanks for your query, Elaine. We understand your concern and as part of our master plan for the development of Springwood we are including a new connector road between Calton Road and Balmoral Road which will serve to take all traffic away from the location you're talking about by providing a direct link through our development. The master plan is being finalised now and will soon be available for you to see at our sales centre. Unlike · Reply · 1 · 23 August at 15:22 .. Elaine Symes Elaine Symes Thank you very much. We will look forward to seeing the master plan Unlike · Reply · 1 · 23 August at 18:08 =================