Large semi-trailer trucks will be banned from Hahndorf's Main Street under a new solution to remove heavy vehicles carrying logs and livestock from the popular community hub and tourist destination.
The plan, which would see non-local semi-trailers, pig and dog trailers over 15 metres in length redirected down an upgraded River Road, will achieve the reduction in large trucks for which locals have been advocating, but without the significant property acquisitions and devastating impact on local tourist attractions such as Beerenberg Farm that previously-touted options would have involved.
The State Government will install 'No Trucks Over 15m in Length' signage alerting drivers to the changed entry rules – with exemptions only if they are taking freight to Main Street business or other destinations they cannot reach by any other route.
The measure, which will be policed to ensure compliance, will remove almost all large heavy vehicles from the Main Street – a reduction of around 130 a day, equivalent to that modelled under previous bypass options.
Trucks with no business in the township will be diverted to alternate routes such as River Road or Strathalbyn Road. These options will be enhanced by improvements to River Road including shoulder sealing and tree trimming, along with intersection improvements at Kangaroo Reef Road, Sawmill Gully Road and Fairview Road. In addition, improvements at the Strathalbyn Road/River Road and Mount Barker Road/River Road junctions are planned, along with works such as shoulder sealing and tree trimming at locations along Strathalbyn Road.
This solution would operate in conjunction with measures already announced under a suite of works to be funded by the Australian and South Australian Governments on an 80:20 basis, including the creation of a full interchange at Verdun and a major upgrade at the Mount Barker Interchange, which modelling suggests would separately remove a further 940 cars and smaller trucks each day from the Main Street.
The ban will be monitored to assess its impact, and we will continue to consider longer-term solutions to broader traffic issues in Hahndorf.
As put by Tom Koutsantonis
Logs and livestock on large semi-trailer trucks don't belong on Hahndorf's Main Street.
We have already announced extensive projects that will benefit Hahndorf and the broader Hills community, including significant upgrades to interchanges at Verdun and Mount Barker and an extension of the Pioneer Women's Trail.
However, it's clear there is ongoing and significant concern about large trucks in particular on Hahndorf's Main Street. While there has been in-principle support in the community for a bypass, last year's extensive engagement showed there was no clear standout among the four options mooted under the former Liberal government - and each one also had strong opposition in some quarters.
There was also a clear message that residents did not want a bypass to involve significant property acquisition, or major impacts on environment, amenity or character. Residents of Paechtown were overwhelmingly opposed to the option put forward by some in the Hahndorf township to carve a bypass through their community, that would have also devastated the iconic Beerenberg Farm.
But what remains certain is that residents want more trucks off their Main Street. We agree that trucks with logs and livestock shouldn't be using this town hub as a thoroughfare, and we have devised an alternative solution that can be delivered at a significantly lower cost, with no disruptive property acquisitions and no impact on Paechtown or the iconic Beerenberg Farm.
While there will always be a need for some trucks to use the Main Street for local deliveries, this ban will get all non-local large heavy vehicles off the town's central strip.
The campaign for a bypass has been a divisive one in the local community, and we are confident that this simple, elegant solution will satisfy all sides.
We are speaking to the Mount Barker District Council about how we can implement these changes as soon as possible. More may need to be done in the longer term to address traffic issues in Hahndorf, but this is a decisive interim measure that means we can rid Main Street of larger trucks, straight away.
