The provision of public transport services, and a road linking the Barossa Way to the Sturt Highway are two key pieces of infrastructure that are pre-requisites that must be planned for and delivered on time, for the Concordia development to go ahead, said Local Member of Parliament, Mr Tony Piccolo.

Mr Piccolo was responding to comments in a media statement issued by the RAA last week. In their statement, the RAA welcomes the State Government’s release of significant parcels of land to build almost 25,000 new homes across greater Adelaide to help address the housing and affordability crisis.  

The RAA Statements says that “Over the last 12 months, the State Government has released enough land to build almost 25,000 new homes.

While statement suggests that the railway should be extended to the Concordia development, Mr Piccolo said the essence of the RAA statement is that appropriate infrastructure must be planned for and delivered to make these communities work.

“I fully accept and strongly support the advanced planning and the timely provision of public transport services and road infrastructure, if Concordia is to go ahead,” said Mr Piccolo.

“We need to fully explore what is the most effective way to provide these public transport services to ensure future Concordia residents can travel to Gawler or connect to the Gawler to Adelaide rail services, without the need for a car.”

“While a desk top analysis would suggest that just extending the railway, an at grade rail crossing at Murray Street near the Gawler Central Railway Station, would be chaos for Gawler.”

“We need to explore how we can use new and emerging technologies to provide the necessary public transport services to those families that will live in Concordia but do it in a way that does not destroy the Town of Gawler.”

The State Government has recently undertaken community engagement through the Northern Adelaide transport study, which includes Concordia and Roseworthy.

This study will identify transport improvement options that build on the existing investment already underway by the Government in the region.

“Those investigations have quite rightly commenced and during the community consultation stages, we will all have an opportunity to have our say whether the proposals in the code amendment that is currently under preparation provides the best solutions possible,” said Mr Piccolo.

Mr Piccolo said he has been advised that nothing is off the table, with the studies considering current transport usage and requirements, community feedback on the improvements and developments they want to see and detailed demographic data on expected population growth and associated transport needs.

“It will be a real challenge to design a public transport system that will not grid lock Gawler but provide for effective public transport services for the proposed area to be developed,” said Mr Piccolo.

Mr Piccolo said a Barossa Valley/Sturt Highway link road will remove heavy vehicles and divert through traffic away from the centre of Gawler, reducing congestion and making the Murray Street/Lyndoch Road operate more effectively and safely.

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A copy of the RAA Statement can be found at https://daily.raa.com.au/media-resources/100000-south-australians-on-the-road-to-nowhere/#socialBanner

The Government response to the whole RAA Statement is below:

In 2022, the Malinauskas Government stepped in to preserve the rail corridor around Seaford to allow for a potential future extension of the Seaford line to Aldinga, ensuring there are long-term options for expanding public transport in South Australia. This reversed the decision taken under the former Marshall Liberal Government to pursue private development of part of the land, which would have terminated any prospect of a future extension of the line.

We have already engaged in consultation for transport planning studies in the Fleurieu region and on Kangaroo Island, and recently announced community engagement on the Northern Adelaide transport study, which covers the inner and outer northern suburbs of Adelaide, from Prospect to Roseworthy, and Buckland Park to One Tree Hill.

These will identify transport improvement options that build on the existing investment already underway by the Government in these regions, and follows a similar consultation in the Adelaide Hills and Mount Barker.

These significant works address exactly what is being discussed here – detailed and proactive planning for future needs.

Nothing is off the table, with the studies considering current transport usage and requirements, community feedback on the improvements and developments they want to see and detailed demographic data on expected population growth and associated transport needs.