PLAYFORD mayor Glenn Docherty has hit back at state transport minister Stephan Knoll, after the latter blamed a lack of action at the Curtis/Heaslip roads intersection on “low population  growth”.

In parliament a fortnight ago, Member for Taylor Jon Gee asked Mr Knoll whether funding would be guaranteed for a roundabout at the notorious intersection, which the community has been pushing since 2017 to be upgraded.

The Member for Schubert, who has visited the intersection to hear residents’ concerns, said the State Government was dealing with a “legacy situation”, which made upgrading the intersection difficult.

“The problem is that this land was rezoned, and there were a series of infrastructure deeds put over that land that provided trigger points at which those intersections and roads around there would be upgraded,” Mr Knoll said.

“That was done before I got here.

“The difficulty is that we have a huge number of residential developments happening in the north and, with low population growth and a huge number of developments, we see each of these developments moving along slowly and incrementally.

“What that means is that those trigger points for where those infrastructure deeds kick in don’t hit at the appropriate time.

“In fact, it takes quite a bit of time for those trigger points to be hit.

“The only way around that is for the State Government to step up and provide that infrastructure, essentially in advance of when those infrastructure deed triggers would go off.”

In response to the transport minister’s comments, Playford mayor Glenn Docherty said development around Angle Vale had already created “a huge gap in infrastructure” and that Curtis Road had been put under strain by “huge traffic volumes”.

“We’re continuing to work with the State Government to invest in congestion-busting infrastructure, but the need for action is ratcheting up quickly,” he said.

“The infrastructure deeds in place for the developing parts of our community also identify that safety risks should be addressed where necessary.

“The State Government can’t ignore the impact the Northern Expressway has had on our communities any longer, particularly with the Northern Connector soon to open.”

Playford Council and the State Government are currently in negotiations to transfer ownership of Curtis Road to the State Government, a move which could see a potential upgrade to the  roundabout brought forward.

The speed limit on Heaslip Road has been lowered to 60 km/h from 80 km/h through the intersection as a temporary measure to increase safety until a roundabout is built.