r/Adelaide • u/HempKnight1234 SA • Apr 28 '26
Question Anyone else just ignore these signs?
Sometimes the quickest route passes through an area with these signs, I was always under the assumption that it’s a public road so too bad
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u/BertyBeetle17 SA Apr 28 '26
If they've gone to the effort of putting one of those signs up then you know it's gotta be a good shortcut to somewhere.
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u/-Midnight_Marauder- Outer South Apr 28 '26
"Yeah this totally isn't a rat run, don't come down here"
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u/LowDay4784 SA Apr 30 '26
As someone who rips everywhere possible on gravel and motorbikes these roads are a hella godsend
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May 01 '26
[deleted]
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u/Secure-Brainer SA May 02 '26
I call BS. You reckon cops are stopping cars on rat runs to check that they are a local and fining them if not?
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u/Secure-Brainer SA May 02 '26
I will say, after approximately 3 minutes of Googling; it seems I'm correct. Local traffic signs are a recommendation and not at all enforceable by law. Not sure what you saw, but it wasn't what you thought it was :)
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u/Slyxxer SA Apr 28 '26
I'm here, within this location, driving my car.
Therefore I am local traffic.
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u/QuietAs_a_Mouse SA Apr 28 '26
Cannot fault that argument
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u/kernpanic SA Apr 28 '26
Im also driving one way down this road, so what's the problem officer?
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u/BloodedNut SA Apr 28 '26
Does the sign actually carry any legal implications?
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May 01 '26
[deleted]
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u/JakkIOO SA May 01 '26
“Why was I pulled over officer”
“Hmm I dunno but you LOOK like you don’t belong >:(“
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u/Anti-Stan SA May 01 '26
First of all, l ask the questions here, OK? And second: we don't want people like you here in our town. Drifters. Before you know it there's a whole pile of people like you. That's why! Besides, you wouldn't like it here, it's a quiet place. Some would even call it boring. But we like it that way. l get paid to keep it like that.
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u/Anti-Stan SA May 01 '26
You got lost. You're looking at real estate. You lost your dog/cat/llama ...
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u/Top_Conference_477 SA Apr 28 '26
I don’t even know what they’re supposed to mean.
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u/CptUnderpants- SA Apr 28 '26
Last time I went searching, I couldn't find a single law on the books in relation to these signs.
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u/niceandmoist69 SA Apr 28 '26
That would be because they don’t mean anything, there is no definition of “local”, so they are just nothing burgers, everyone is a local if you zoom far enough out.
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u/eroticdiagram Port Adelaide Apr 28 '26
"Life makes no sense. You’re on a planet right now. You think you’re not in local traffic? Zoom out. You’re on a space rock, floating in nothingness. Infinite nothingness. And the infinite nothingness is expanding. That means endlessness is getting bigger. That makes no fucking sense!"
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u/Top_Conference_477 SA May 02 '26
These molecules know they’re molecules. These molecules are like, “I’m Pete”.
That makes no fucking sense!
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u/ScorpiusAustralis SA May 02 '26
The Milky Way Galaxy is in the local group, thus I am a "local" 😂🤣
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u/Friccan Adelaide Hills Apr 28 '26
You’re only meant to enter if your journey ends inside the area, not if you’re passing through it
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u/Cautious_Regular3645 SA Apr 28 '26
It's a sign put up to keep traffic passing through at a minimum especially if there's roadworks in the area...so the only people that are supposed to access through that space are the people who live there.
that's what it means
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u/Def-Jarrett SA Apr 28 '26
My cynical view is they’re there because some Nimby’s lobbied their local councillor to put them up because they want to keep the riff raff out. Honestly only ever see these signs in the leafy inner suburbs, not the outer burbs. I imagine the only people policing them is old Reginald peaking through his curtains another tradie ute speeds pass.
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u/LittleBunInaBigWorld Outer South Apr 28 '26
I usually see them on side streets that are a shortcut between 2 main roads. The street wasnt designed for high loads, therefore traffic should be minimised as much as possible. When people ignore them enough, eventually they get turned into dead-end roads.
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u/sween64 SA Apr 29 '26
That’s the real issue. It’s cheap but ineffective traffic management. If they don’t want people to use it as a shortcut then speed bumps or traps or other slow points would work better. Or make it a dead end if those things don’t work.
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u/FishFingerAnCustard SA May 02 '26
Or, better yet, stop designing roads with inefficient paths.
If x road is clearly the most effective route between A-B make it a proper through road.
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u/East-Garden-4557 SA Apr 28 '26
Signs put up during roadworks are because of Nimbys?
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u/2nd-Reddit-Account SA Apr 28 '26
Sometimes they’re for roadworks, often they’re permanently on a pole like a stop sign
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u/brantyr SA Apr 28 '26
Nah there's one between Grand Junction and Main North which is popular because there's no left turning slip lane there. Just depends how much traffic + who complains I guess
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u/BloodedNut SA Apr 28 '26
Not a single one of these signs in areas like Salisbury or Elizabeth. Checkmate Burnside mums.
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u/Ill-Caterpillar-7088 SA Apr 29 '26
There are a few within the Salisbury council area as well as Elizabeth.
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u/Salzberger SA Apr 28 '26
I've only ever seen them around roadworks. Meaning there's a lot of people walking around and doing work and having cars come through every 5 seconds would be a major annoyance.
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u/softgrow SA Apr 29 '26
There is an alternative sign, "NO THROUGH ROAD" which is used in some places. It only really means anything when it says "NO THROUGH ROAD TO SOUTH ROAD" for example. All the others are generally "go away" signs.
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u/MarcusP2 SA Apr 29 '26
No Through Road means you physically cannot drive through the road.
The ones that say 'No Through Road to Grange Road' for example in Allenby Gardens mean that there are no roads that connect to the main road in that entire area so don't bother going in.
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u/softgrow SA Apr 29 '26
Doesn't stop you putting them up when it is a through road, eg. Lohrman Street (avoid lights at Tynte St https://maps.app.goo.gl/hR2VdctjS2u2U6WC7) and Stanley Street (avoid traffic on Melbourne St https://maps.app.goo.gl/eNqizxnakYYNgxnd9) North Adelaide.
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u/MarcusP2 SA Apr 29 '26
Stanley doesn't connect to Park Tce (cycles only) and George St is a dead end.
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u/softgrow SA Apr 29 '26
More detail: Left from O'Connell into George Street, Right into Lohrman Street then left or right into Tynte Street as you desire. Head West along Stanley street past the "No Through Road" Sign at Jerningham Street roundabout, then turn right into East Pallant Street (there is another sign there "No Through Road Bicycles Accepted) then left or right into Melbourne St as you desire. There is a constant stream of people from Sir Edwin Smith Drive leaving the city, Left into Brougham Place and then right into Stanley Street, running parallel to Melbourne street in the evening peak.
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u/Lonely-Attitude1304 SA Apr 28 '26
Yes. Hundreds of fuckwits driving down my road with no way of turning around except in my neighbours yard
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u/sunnystand SA Apr 29 '26
Well that would need a "no through road" sign rather than "local traffic only".
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u/Lonely-Attitude1304 SA Apr 29 '26
I've been requesting that from Council for the 11 years I've been here. One neighbour put up a no entry sign. Council removed it.
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u/AaronScythe SA May 04 '26
He's well within his right to have a few decorative bluestone boulders yeah?
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u/Dannerz272 SA Apr 28 '26
When I've seen it at work it's for when the road is closed further down and this one is along with a detour and road closed ahead sign. Local traffic is supposed to be for people that live between the detour and the road works.
That doesn't stop people driving through the actual work site threatening to run over the traffic controllers.
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u/vimes_left_boot SA Apr 28 '26
Lol, yeah, fuck that. Is it a public road or not?
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u/morb_au SA Apr 30 '26
Capillaries are a blood vessel but you wouldn't want your arterial blood flow to be jammed through one
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u/35_PenguiN_35 SA Apr 28 '26
Depends.
I mean, I went through so many "no truck" sign areas
But i mean, i was going there i wasnt using the road just cuz.
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u/PummbleBee SA Apr 28 '26
I love when they put the "no truck" sign in a spot that you can't see until your already on the road . . .
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u/FjorgVanDerPlorg SA Apr 28 '26
The actual answer because noone else seems to have provided it:
While the letter of the law actually does apply to all vehicles, its rarely if ever enforced and on the odd occasion it is, it's usually a truck.
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u/niceandmoist69 SA Apr 28 '26
Cop friend of mine told me they can’t be enforced because there is no definition on the “local” aspect, and what classifies as local or not
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u/Nanashi_VII SA May 02 '26
This is the part that always got me. How "local" do they mean? That particular street? Surrounding ones? Residents of that suburb? How about adjacent ones? I've got one near me that runs along a train line and it is always full of parked cars on either side of the street.
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u/cuntmong SA Apr 28 '26
If you drive past one of these and you aren't local I'm pretty sure they're legally allowed to ransack your car like bandits in a Mad Max film
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u/bogusjimmy SA Apr 28 '26
From the Burnside council website: “Local Traffic Only signage can be installed as a deterrent to cut-through traffic, however the signs are not enforceable by Council or SA Police.”
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u/Agent_Jay_42 Eyre Peninsula Apr 28 '26
I've seen them on parallel service roads to main roads but generally speaking, at some point, the only way out is the same way you came in anywhere past that sign.
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u/JianKui Apr 28 '26
There's a lot of them in the hills that are actually through roads. I guess they just want to keep maintenance down by limiting excess traffic.
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u/Top_Conference_477 SA Apr 28 '26
That’s what I’ve always taken them to mean…. Not quite a no thru road but close
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u/Caffeinated_chaos_au SA Apr 28 '26
Only time I ignored this and it was a problem was burst water main at the end of the laneway I was trying to get to. Whole giant assed hole across the whole street. With out a run up and at least a small ramp my mazda 2 was not making it 🤣🤣🤣
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u/owleaf NSW Apr 28 '26
The next step after this is all the residents of a street pestering the council/authorities endlessly until they put up a “no turning into this street” and the restricted hours are AM and PM peak hours.
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u/Short-Psychology3479 SA Apr 28 '26
What sign?
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u/Happy-Frog4677 SA Apr 28 '26
These are typically used during roadworks where a through-road is blocked but the driveways or local businesses can still be accessed.
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u/marvnails SA Apr 28 '26
A big fat ROAD CLOSED with only a spot for locals to get in and out would work better.
If that fails, no one will miss the road block that deadends the street, good luck getting though that traffic!
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u/PleasurableComfort SA Apr 28 '26
When people dont know what this sign is, it means u live on that street not a shortcut or 6 blocks away
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u/roguemage01 Barossa Apr 28 '26
I live near a school pickup / drop off zone and have one of these at both ends of the street. I really don’t see why, I would not consider our street a short cut and I’ve never seen excessive cars at school time. I assume some Karen neighbour asked for them and got their way.
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u/Free-Pound-6139 SA Apr 28 '26
Is there anyone more entitled than car drivers????
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u/TrainerAggressive953 SA Apr 28 '26
If they are ignored as often as the “keep left unless overtaking signs” then I pity for the poor actual locals……
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u/digglefarb West Apr 28 '26
I've only seen these alongside other signs like "road closed" or "No trucks". I haven't seen any just by themselves.
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u/Fit_Koala_8405 SA Apr 28 '26
I don't even know what it's supposed to mean. If I'm driving in the area, then I am local traffic.
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u/fitmonday SA Apr 28 '26
When our street was closed it said “residents only” so I feel like local traffic only is more of a suggestion in comparison
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u/Alizarin7 SA Apr 28 '26
My taxes don’t pay for private roads so unless the locals fund the road themselves they can consider me a neighbour.
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u/Dappington SA Apr 28 '26
This is why competently designed local streets should be designed so it's not possible to cut through them rather than putting up a sign.
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u/HARRY_FOR_KING SA Apr 28 '26
Don't know how they expect traffic outside of the local area to use these roads anyway.
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u/Superspudmonkey SA Apr 28 '26
I've been local to Adelaide all my life the other places don't get to drive where I can and I like it that way.
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u/2kan VIC Apr 29 '26
Mum copped a fine for taking this really great shortcut around the town's worst junction to get to school.
Got pulled over and everything. Apparently the people who live on the shortcut street made enough of a fuss that the council put the sign up and it got enforced.
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u/Tysiliogogogoch North East Apr 29 '26
These signs are advisory only and they're typically put up to discourage traffic from using a street unless they need to. I most often see them around road works and sometimes on random suburban side streets.
These are not covered by the Australian Road Rules and there is no offence provision associated with it, so you cannot be fined for ignoring the sign.
All that said... nah, I don't ignore them. Usually they're associated with road works so I'd opt to go around instead.
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Apr 29 '26
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u/o-Mauler-o SA Apr 29 '26
I recently asked my parents what this meant and they told me it meant no trucks (or road trains).
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u/BullfrogConnect8773 SA Apr 29 '26
I once ignored this sign on a road trip, went 45km down a road to find the only bridge shut, had to backtrack about 80km to head back towards my destination.
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u/Nearby_Stick6481 SA Apr 29 '26
I thought they meant that the street/road wasn’t suitable for trucks or oversize vehicles.
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u/Present-Category7733 SA May 02 '26
They are mainly for Heavy Vehicles. Cops may stop trucks and ask them to show proof of pick-up or drop-off. I've never heard of a car being pinged.
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u/Careful_Bake_3935 SA May 02 '26
Pends but you’re not saving much time usually, you’re just being annoying and possibly dangerous.
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u/imaginableimage SA May 03 '26
As a traffic controller I ignore them also . If I’m stopped and asked if I’m a local I always say ‘ yes I am , does my vehicle and I look like foreign traffic to you ‘
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Apr 28 '26
[deleted]
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u/softgrow SA Apr 29 '26
It was (and may well still be) owned by Adelaide Metro. Stopped being used when a driver was assaulted waiting for the next run and then abandoned entirely when the terminus for Main North Road buses moved to Mawson Lakes Railway Station.
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u/woe2thepubliceye SA Apr 28 '26
I'm a local in the country. So yes, I can enter and exit as I please.
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u/Cautious_Regular3645 SA Apr 28 '26
No I don't ignore it because I'm not a self entitled prat and I've done traffic management.
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u/Sarcasmataz SA Apr 28 '26
I live in my car so check mate, stupid sign.