Playford councillor Peter Rentoulis (left), Playford mayor Glenn Docherty and councillor Cathy-Jo Tame welcomed$3.85 million of State Government funding to construct a roundabout at the Womma/Stebonheath roads intersection. last year.PHOTO: Sam Bradbrook
A PLAYFORD councillor has praised the “people power” that has helped Playford Council obtain $3.85 million of State Government funding to upgrade the Womma/Stebonheath roads intersection.
Councillor Peter Rentoulis started an online petition alongside 2018 state election SA Best candidate for Taylor, Sonja Taylor, early last year, calling for urgent funding for the Edinburgh North intersection to be upgraded.
Cr Rentoulis aimed to garner 5000 signatures, which he achieved in October before he presented the petition to a Playford Council meeting in January.
He said getting the government to commit to funding was a huge achievement for the council.
“The online petition grew a life of its own, it just went viral and within a couple of days we had a couple of thousand signatures,” Cr Rentoulis said.
“It’s one of the biggest issues I’ve seen, I haven’t seen anything during my time on council this large in terms of community desire for change.
“People have been fighting for the intersection years before us, I’m certainly not here to take full credit.
“I’m one of many people who have been pushing the issue, council has, Glenn (Playford mayor Glenn Docherty) has, other local councillors and state parliament candidates have as well.”
Traffic at the Womma/Stebonheath roads intersection has spiked recently following the start-up of the nearby Drakes Edinburgh distribution centre, which is set to be fully operational in October.
The funding will go towards constructing a roundabout at the intersection, widening both roads to make them dual lane, and additional lighting being installed.
Work is set to begin in the 2020/21 financial year.
Playford mayor Glenn Docherty said the council and the community had been “lobbying hard” for the funding.
“We welcome the correspondence from Minister (Stephan) Knoll and the State Government indicating that the plan to fix this traffic issue is being brought forward,” he said.
“It is great to see the State Government co-operating with council and the community to build congestion-busting infrastructure in Playford.
"We hope to see more of this common-sense approach to future funding for urban growth in our community.”
