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Truck traffic to be monitored after B-double crash

Study to be carried out that may result in a truck ban on a busy freight route in Adelaide

By Ruza Zivkusic-Aftasi | September 18, 2013

The South Australian Government will monitor truck traffic on an Adelaide road following the crash of a B-double that came to a stop in a restaurant.

Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis says a study will be carried out that may result in a truck ban on Glen Osmond Drive, which is a busy freight route but also home to a rising number of cafes and restaurants.

A semi-trailer ended up in a restaurant after crashing into a parked van, a pole, power lines, a gas meter and a hydrant last week.

The driver sustained minor injuries but the accident has sparked calls from local Unley Council for a truck ban in the area.

Speaking on radio, Koutsantonis says the Government will work with the council to divert trucks from the area.

“There are ways we can look at it (getting trucks off Glen Osmond Road), there are augmentations we can make to sort of divert some of that traffic around and spread it around more thinly so there’s not as much concentrated traffic on one piece of road,” Koutsantonis says.

Unley Council Communication Officer Karen Cini says the council has ongoing concerns for shoppers and retailers but has implemented no restrictions in the area.

South Australian Road Transport Association (SARTA) Executive Director Steve Shearer says the group is against a truck ban but welcomes improvements to the road that could alleviate traffic concerns.

“SARTA is very concerned and disappointed that we have not been engaged by the Government on this given that they are working with the council,” Shearer says.

“We are seeking to ensure that we are brought into (its) work and discussion as soon as possible and that absolutely no decisions about limiting truck movements are even considered, let alone made, before we have had an appropriate opportunity to have proper input and make our case strongly.”

Shearer says the solution may be making some improvements to Glen Osmond Road.

“Unless of course the real desire of Unley Council and the café set is to get trucks removed because they’d just prefer not to see or hear them go by as they sip their short black over the morning paper.”

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