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DPTI Matters - 19 July 2019

CONNECT - Message from the Chief Executive

A word from the Chief Executive

Incident control

Staff at the Traffic Management centre work hard to make sure traffic keeps moving, sometimes under very challenging conditions.

The important work of responding to traffic incidents and rapidly changing conditions was particularly stretched in the wet weather recently, with three large-scale incidents occurring in one day.

A truck rollover at the bottom of the Southern Expressway meant the road had to be closed in both directions for some time, and a further two car fires on the Crafers Highway, with one in the tunnels, created further challenges.

Our operators, Traffic Response Group and Field Services crews worked together to assist emergency services with prompt responses and recovery of each site. Well done to the team involved.

A CCTV shot of a truck on its side, across almost three lanes of traffic. Emergency service vehicles are in the foreground and there is a line of cars going around the right-hand end of the truck.

Community care

A new Rail Care group has done a great job in planting 100 local native plants behind the old Hawthorn Station platform. This group began from the enthusiasm of one local resident, supported by a local MP and the Rail Care program, wanting to screen fences and add some greenery to their neighbourhood.

With the sighting of a local skink species, it is hoped that this 500 square-metre patch will provide some enhanced habitat. Volunteer aspirations for this neighbourhood precinct include more greening, art replacing graffiti, and a revamp of the adjacent council pocket park.

Nine people in hi-vis vests are seen working along a narrow corridor which runs between a corrugated iron fence and the train station and line.
The new Rail Care team hard at work.

White Ribbon Night

Next Friday, 26 July, is White Ribbon Night, and DPTI is again supporting this important event.

Staff are encouraged to wear white on the day to help raise awareness about violence against women. You can also take part in other activities such as raising funds through a morning or afternoon tea, holding a food drive for Catherine House, or promoting donations to Genesis Pregnancy Support, which collects second-hand baby goods for at-risk women.

In the weeks ahead we will also support the Share The Dignity charity, which helps bring dignity to homeless, at-risk women and girls experiencing domestic or family violence, through the distribution of sanitary items.

Collection points will be installed at various Department locations during August and November.

A graphic to promote the White Ribbon events. The graphics has a black background with an orange trim in the bottom left corner. On the left id is an image of women around a fire. On the right are thw words Have a night in to #getthewordout. White Ribbon Night is Friday 26 July - let your voice be heard. Register your event at whiteribbon.org/night.image

Autonomous vehicle

There was strong interest from local media as Phase 2 of an autonomous vehicle trial in the City of Playford was launched this week and it’s great to see DPTI playing a role in the advancement of this technology.

The trial will see an autonomous shuttle run on public roads, with a chaperone on board, from the Munno Para railway station through the Playford Alive township, including stops at Mark Oliphant College and the Stretton Centre.

Much of the funding for these trials comes via the Future Mobility Lab Fund, which is administered by DPTI, under the supervision of Manager Strategic Projects Joanne Murray and her team.

A man, a woman and another man, each in business attire, standing in front of the autonomous vehicle, which is only partially visible.
General Manager Transport for SAGE Group Damian Hewitt, Joanne Murray and Managing Director for EasyMile ANZ Greg Giraud.

Academy graduates

I was delighted to be given the opportunity to nominate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff for the South Australian Leadership Academy’s Frontline Leadership Program some time ago and was thrilled to see Kiara Johnson, Angie Johnson and Samantha Brown accepted into the program.

The academy is a professional development program which targets Aboriginal employees from AS02 to AS06 who want to transition from team member to leading a team, or for new managers wanting to build leadership and management capability.

Over six months participants were provided with the tools needed to become effective managers, alongside a group of like-minded people from across the public sector.

Certificates of completion were presented at a closing event at the Stamford Plaza yesterday and I congratulate Kiara, Angie and Samantha on their success in this program.

Two photos separated by a white line. On the left are three women, with one holding a certificate. On the right are two women, with one holding a certificate. The background for each is two pull-up banners, one saying Office of the Commissioner for Public Service Employees, and the other with the word Inspire visible.

Darlington switch

This weekend is an exciting time for the Darlington Upgrade Project, with a major traffic switch allowing drivers to use the new lowered motorway for the first time from 5am tomorrow.

Traffic will be on the lowered motorway between Ayliffes Road and the Southern Expressway. It is a significant change to the way traffic operates in the area, so take care and observe signage if you are travelling there.

The new access represents another piece of the picture for this important and complex project.

Detailed information on the switch is available on the Darlington Upgrade Project website.

Stall success

Well done to our Aboriginal Engagement and Inclusion team who braved the chilly elements at a stall in Tarndanyangga (Victoria Square) as part of NAIDOC Week celebrations last week.

The team participated in the NAIDOC Week march to Parliament House in the rain and wind to celebrate this year’s theme of Voice Treaty and Truth.

The DPTI stall was well attended, with members of the public keen to learn about the Department’s On the Right Track program and our Aboriginal Employment strategies and programs.

The team, including a number of our Aboriginal trainees, handed out promotional material and talked about the excellent and valuable services DPTI provides to members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in both the regions and metropolitan Adelaide.

Eight Indigenous DPTI staff members in a group, some waving Indigenous flags. They are in a marquee which has pull banners and Aboriginal flags along the top of the back wall.
Some of the DPTI  team at the NAIDOC Week stall.

Connecting up

The Northern Connector Project has taken another big step forward with the new off-ramp from the South Road Superway  to Salisbury Highway now open to traffic.

The new off-ramp forms part of the Southern Interchange that will provide access between the Northern Connector, Port River Expressway, South Road Superway and the Salisbury Highway. The Northern Connector project is scheduled for completion late in 2019.

A drone image showing a sweeping curved road, which is the turn-off to the Salisbury Highway from the South Road Superway. The background shows swamp land and two large chimneys in the far distance.

Kaurna Country acknowledgement

Acknowledgement of Kaurna Country signage was recently installed at a roadside rest area on Port Wakefield Road, about 2km north of Dublin.

The design of the signage was delivered by DPTI Landscape Architect Paul Herzich, in collaboration with the Kaurna Nation Cultural Heritage Association.

Decorated in the colours of red ochre and white pipe-clay, the theme for the signage conveys a story of the nearby two freshwater wells located within the township of Two Wells. The design also depicts Kaurna men and women as well as the Red Kangaroo travelling across Kaurna Country in spirit.

A large red sign, made up of seven vertival rectangles, the first with an Indigenous symbol and the rest with a letter each, spelling out Kaurna. The are indigenous symbols and artwork below each letter. The letters and the symbols are hollow, with the red metal around them.
The signage on Port Wakefield Road.

Friday Flashback

Today’s Friday Flashback shows the first road train to reach Alice Springs from Adelaide, in 1938.

A very old style eight-wheeled truck with no doors and a long, eight-wheeled trailer attached. The photo is black and white and quite grainy.
SLSA B 59983