The first step has been taken in a bid to reduce the speed limit on a rural road at Tantanoola.

A local resident residing on Poonada Road has expressed safety concerns to Wattle Range Council over the road due to its alignment, design and nature of vehicles traversing the sealed road.

The resident has requested a reduction in speed limit from 110kph to 100kph.

The only industrial property on Poonada Road is the one-time Tantanoola cheese factory which operated from 1890 until 1965.

The derelict property is now used for storage purposes.

Poonada Road runs from Canunda Frontage Road to Tantanoola Road and forms part of the wind farm scenic drive.

Council’s engineer has investigated the request and found that Poonada Road does not meet most of the criteria for a 110kph road when assessed against Speed Limit Guideline for South Australia as provided by the Department of Infrastructure and Transport.

The complainant said several homes along Poonada Road have small children living there and it is a school bus route.

“The road is quite narrow and has several bends,” stated the complainant.

“There is frequent heavy vehicle traffic including a B double travelling twice daily along the road and there is often farm machinery on the road.

“There are surrounding roads that have minimal houses on them and have a speed limit of 100kph.”

The request and written staff report were considered at the January monthly council meeting.

Without any discussion, the meeting agreed with the staff recommendation to undertake formal public consultation on the proposal to reduce the speed limit.

Similar proposals at Hatherleigh and Beachport have been endorsed by the authorities in recent years.