Connect - 9 April 2021

Aiming at climate goal

The South Australian Government has released its Climate Change Action Plan 2021-25, setting a clear course to achieving its target to be a net zero emissions society by 2050. Our department has an important role in achieving that target.

An implementation plan has been endorsed, which includes practical actions we will take over the next five years to drive climate smart procurement, transport planning, infrastructure delivery and operations. We need all staff to get on board to embed climate change priorities into our decision making.

A recent example of the implementation plan in action is the R2P project, which has been awarded a Gold Infrastructure Sustainability design rating for the use of recycled crushed glass as a replacement for sand, working with concrete suppliers to deliver low carbon concrete and trialling asphalt made with recycled soft plastics.

Sustainability Advisers Matthew Waltho and Jennifer Slocombe

Delivering best practice

Maintaining best practice in project planning and delivery is critical to our organisation, so we’re delighted to be implementing a new Program and Project Management Framework (PPMF) that captures cutting edge industry best practice.

Transport Planning and Program Development Project Manager Alan Brewster (below) has been instrumental in designing a new course, Introduction to Project Management, that covers the role of the Project Manager in applying the new PPMF. It is a high-level course covering key activities and documentation within each phase of a project and will be followed up with further courses which drill further into Risk and Issue Management, Change Management and Stakeholder Engagement.

Great feedback on roads

The surface repair work on Aldinga Road to Willunga and Main Road, McLaren Vale to Willunga has gone well and been acknowledged through some very positive feedback from road users. One email we received went as far as describing the road surfaces as ‘billiard table smooth’.

The author also appreciated the personal contact with Asset Manager Victor Ling, who had visited the person in response to road condition concerns. This is another example of excellent community engagement, which is vital to the way we go about our business.

Portrush/Magill intersection under way

Major work has started on the Portrush Road and Magill Road intersection, with an official sod turning marking the moment this week.

Jointly funded by the Federal and State Governments, it’s an important project, being on the National Transport Network and the Outer Ring Route, providing a vital north-south connection from the South Eastern Freeway around the City of Adelaide.

BMD Constructions have the contract, with the intersection to be open to traffic by the end of 2021 and completion expected in early 2022.

Michael Marks, Michael Rander (DIT) and Josh O’Connell (BMD).

An opportunity to help

Having shop fronts such as our Service SA outlets provides opportunities for the department to support community groups such as Share the Dignity. These high-traffic areas are ideal locations for collections, and Share the Dignity’s call for sanitary items for disadvantaged women and girls will be in place until 30 April.

There are also several collection points within our offices for staff to access, at Level 5, 50 Flinders Street, Roma Mitchell House and 71 Richmond Road.

Share the Dignity has joined with large retailers such as Bunnings and Woolworths, making this a great example of the department working alongside the private sector to do good within our community.

Thanks to People and Capability’s Domestic and Family Violence team, who have created this connection for the benefit of vulnerable people who need our support.

Graeme Jackson, Executive Sponsor to the Family and Domestic Violence community of practice and members of the community of practice ‘sharing the dignity’.

Paying our way

An interesting fact you may not be aware of is that the department is South Australia’s biggest landlord when it comes to outdoor advertising. We have a lot of infrastructure, such as overpasses and bus stops, as well as fleets of buses, trams and trains, which provides advertising space opportunities.

Revenue raised has increased significantly over the past 10 years and the two-person team of Paul Littlejohns and Antonella Polisena (Legal and Statutory Services) who work very closely with multiple areas of the department now have a target of $14 million per year. This money is returned to general revenue and is able to be invested for the benefit of our community.

Friday Flashback

Today’s Friday Flashback is a video you may have seen a few years back but it’s a great reminder of why we deliver upgrades at key intersections. The flurry of near misses and crazy risks below was filmed at the corner of Main North Road and Nottage Terrace in the 1960s.