Murray Bridge council watch: March 2022

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Sunnyside Drive is an accident waiting to happen

The poor condition of a road at Sunnyside is putting people’s lives at risk, Murray Bridge councillors have heard.

At their March meeting, councillors agreed to have another look at Sunnyside Road, the dirt track which winds its way down through a cutting to the riverfront community.

The council decided not to seal the road last year, when Sunnyside residents last raised the issue.

But resident Roger Wickes recently wrote to the council again, saying the risk of an accident was still too high.

The road consists of a single lane for most of its length, with no space for a driver to overtake or pull off the roadway; and there is a a sheer drop off one side, without a railing, near the bottom end.

Mayor Brenton Lewis said he was aware of the “horror stories” about the road, and that the council would consider including an upgrade in its budget for 2022-23.

White Sands residents’ safety threatened by speedsters

Speeding tourists are risking the safety of families and retirees at White Sands, according to a petition to the Murray Bridge council.

Thirty-four residents wrote to the council this month, begging for a reduction to the speed limit on Riverglen Drive, the main road leading down to Riverglen Marina, a boat ramp and nearby houses.

Many of the visitors who used the road seemed to be unaware of the 50-kilometre-per-hour limit, they said.

They suggested 40 or 25km/h would be more appropriate.

Council staff will prepare a report for councillors on the steps needed to get the limit changed by the state Department of Infrastructure and Transport.

Houses on Industry Road, Forest Drive will be re-numbered

Several dozen Murray Bridge residents will get new addresses in the coming months as the city's council looks to fix up some haphazard property numbering.

The council plans to assign new numbers to 27 houses and several vacant blocks on the northern side of Industry Road; and to 30 more homes on Forest Drive, off Long Island Road.

Property numbering on both roads has been affected by subdivisions over the years.

For example, the houses on Industry Road are numbered 5E to 25E, then start again at one.

Residents on both streets have already been asked about several options for property re-numbering; the council will now go back and ask them to say yes or no to its final plan.

Dog rego fees will not go up

Registering a dog will be no more expensive in 2022-23 than it was this financial year, the Murray Bridge council has decided.

It will continue to cost $35 per year to register a desexed, microchipped dog – more than at Tailem Bend, but less than at Mannum, Strathalbyn or Mount Barker.

However, irresponsible dog owners will be charged extra if their animals are found wandering the streets or abandoned.

The council will charge $70 for impounding a dog, up from $60, and $25 per day for keeping it at the pound, up from $20.

How much should councillors be paid?

How much should Murray Bridge councillors be paid?

The Remuneration Tribunal of South Australia, which sets their pay levels, wants to know – it's reviewing councillor allowances ahead of this year's local government elections.

Murray Bridge councillors are currently paid $17,270 per year.

The mayor gets four times as much, or $69,080; and the deputy mayor 25 per cent extra.

• Have your say: Email remunerationtribunal@sa.gov.au by 5pm next Friday, April 8.
• More information: www.remtribunal.sa.gov.au/making-a-submission.

Locals mustn’t be allowed to ‘drop off the edge’

The Murray Bridge council has a leading role to play in lessening socio-economic disadvantage in the district, it has acknowledged.

At the council’s March meeting, its community services manager reported that providing free internet access at Murray Bridge Library and funding community events were among the things the council was doing to help its most disadvantaged residents.

Councillors were given a 15-page report laying out those actions in more detail in response to a request from Cr Airlie Keen, who asked for more information after a Jesuit Social Services report named Murray Bridge among South Australia’s most disadvantaged communities.

Dropping off the Edge summary report5.58MB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownload