Murray Bridge council watch: September 2022

Balanada Drive residents call for a lower speed limit, councillors wring their hands about abandoned shopping trolleys and more.

Murray Bridge council watch: September 2022

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This 80-kilometre-per-hour sign should be moved a lot further away from the Mypolonga township, residents say. Photo: Google Maps.

Balanada Drive speed limit needs to come down, Mypolonga residents say

The Murray Bridge council will look at reducing the speed limit on Balanada Drive, at Mypolonga, after receiving a petition about the issue.

Lynda Pfeiffer and 33 other locals wrote to the council in August, arguing that 80 kilometres per hour – the limit almost all the way into the township – was too fast.

“Over the years there has been a great reduction in fruit growing in this area,” Ms Pfeiffer said.

“It is becoming more residential, with younger families moving back to the area.

“Many children and adults walk or ride along this drive.”

Mayor Brenton Lewis agreed that the issue was quite serious.

Council staff will report back on the most suitable option.

Pending councillors’ approval, the council would then ask the state Department for Infrastructure and Transport to make the changes.

An abandoned shopping trolley sits outside the cinema on First Street, Murray Bridge. Photo: Peri Strathearn.

Supermarkets must take responsibility for abandoned trolleys

There’s not much the Murray Bridge council can do about abandoned shopping trolleys around the city, councillors have heard.

At the council’s September meeting, Cr Airlie Keen questioned whether retailers could be relied upon to collect their lost trolleys.

Unfortunately, there was no better option, council staff advised – legal advice had suggested the council could not round up trolleys that were more than 100 metres away from their shops.

The Marion council had tried to pass a by-law to address the issue in 2021, councillors were told, but state Parliament vetoed it “despite considerable community support”.

“It’s really disappointing that we can’t do more,” Mayor Brenton Lewis said.

“Until the day the shopping centre takes ownership of its trolleys … it’s not going to improve.”

Cr Andrew Baltensperger hoped all supermarkets would follow Aldi’s example and ask for a $1 deposit for the use of a trolley.

What happens when prisoners are released from Mobilong?

Are ex-prisoners are Mobilong simply pushed out the gate, or driven to the nearest bus stop and told to find his own way?

Not quite, Mayor Brenton Lewis says.

Mr Lewis met Mobilong Prison’s general manager, Michael Dent, last month to clarify concerns raised by local residents.

Stories about ex-prisoners being dumped in Murray Bridge, and going straight to the nearest welfare agency, were “more fallacy than fact”, Mr Lewis said.

“It might be what’s happened in the past, but not any more,” he said.

If a prisoner has family members in Adelaide, the Department for Correctional Services will transport him there upon his release.

A portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II watches over councillors’ September meeting. Photo: Peri Strathearn.

Quote of the month

“I was trying to get a good room for you. He didn’t have any that I thought would meet your expectations, so you can stay home on your farm a bit longer.” –Brenton Lewis, telling Cr Clem Schubert about a visit to Mobilong Prison