Hahndorf residents are up in arms about road detours they say could cause tragedies
Shrouded in chestnut and elm trees, the unsuspecting town of Hahndorf boasts a mighty history.
Acknowledged as Australia’s oldest surviving German settlement, Hahndorf’s idyllic landscape transports visitors back to another time.
The yearn for this escape explains how the town’s modest population of 3000 are hosts to more than one million tourists a year.
With Tourism Research Australia estimating 89 per cent of people who holiday in Adelaide also stop at Hahndorf, it should come as no surprise that the residents are often overrun with visitors.
The Main Street, now a State Heritage Area, has narrow roads with curb parking that becomes easily congested and dangerous with an overflow of semi-trailers and traffic.
A 2021 government-commissioned study estimated that 480 commercial vehicles, 90 per cent of which are heavy vehicles, pass through Hahndorf’s main street each day.
For years, locals have been advocating for traffic congestion solutions to free up the area, with numerous community-run petitions and initiatives pushing for a bypass to be built.
In an effort to preserve the site and appease residents, South Australian transport minister Tom Koutsantonis announced a semi-trailer ban that would see all non-local semi-trailers, pig and dog trailers over 15 metres in length banned from passing through Hahndorf’s main street.
Effective from November 1, trucks will be diverted onto Strathalbyn Road and River Road in a move the state government says will stop 130 heavy vehicles moving through Hahndorf each day.
The SA 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.
“Logs and livestock on large semi-trailer trucks don’t belong on Hahndorf’s Main Street,” Koutsantonis says.
“We have already announced extensive projects that will benefit Hahndorf and the broader Hills community, including significant upgrades.”
Despite this announcement, many residents feel a newly-constructed bypass is the best solution to their ongoing issues, and that this ban is a sore effort to appease them.
After feeling the pressure in 2021, the then-state Liberal government announced a proposal as part of a $250 million upgrade to construct a new bypass and interchange onto the South Eastern Freeway.
Residents voiced their concerns about not wanting the bypass to involve significant property acquisition, or major impacts on environment, amenities or the historic town’s character, yet many were in favour of the change.
However, the controversial proposal was recently scrapped by the SA government amid concern over property acquisitions around Paechtown and the Beerenberg farm.
In response, opposition transport spokesperson Vincent Tarzia labelled the semi-trailer ban a “band-aid over a bullet hole” and called for answers about the bypass project from the federal government’s infrastructure review.
“Federal Labor promised to review the project and others and provide an answer after 90 days,” Tarzia says.
“That 90 days was up at the start of August, and we still have no clarity or answers on the future of the project.”
The government announced that routes affected, namely River Road and Strathalbyn Road, are to receive a $30-40 million upgrade to take on the new traffic load.
As of date, vegetation management, shoulder sealing and fixing of localised pavement failures work have commenced, yet many residents fear not enough restoration will have been completed when the ban commences in early November.
Many residents feel dissatisfied by the government’s plans and fear for the safety of residents and truck drivers, expressing their frustration through a Change.org petition that has garnered more than 1300 signatures.
“Many school children ride their bikes to Sidewood bus stop or walk home along River Road for access to buses to and from school. Clearly there is not a footpath anywhere on River Road so straddling the uneven road edge is necessary,” says the petition description.
“Inserting heavy long trucks driving at speed on this winding, undulating, narrow road with frequent blind spots, in both directions will be the perfect setup for a tragedy to happen.
“There is an urgent need for a long term solution to be implemented by building a permanent and comprehensive bypass for the Hahndorf main street, diverting trucks and commuter vehicles to/from Echunga Road.”
In response to the doubt, Koutsantonis says the campaign for a bypass has been a divisive one in the local community.
“We are confident that this simple, elegant solution will satisfy all sides,” he says.
“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.”