Ekurhuleni assesses school zone safety after repeated Bedfordview crashes

The City of Ekurhuleni has confirmed plans to assess road safety around the Bedfordview Montessori Angus Road following three drive-ins to the school fence this year.

The Bedfordview Edenvale News reported that three different vehicles had crashed onto the pre-school’s fence in February, May and June.

Some of the issues reported were that three street lights on Angus Road were not working.

City spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said on June 22 that the city can confirm that while streetlights are logged and repaired, they can occasionally fail after a repair. This is due to technical faults or third-party interference such as vandalism.

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He added that the city actively attends to these issues as and when they are reported by the public.
In an effort to repair the street lights, the city sent a technical team to repair them on June 19.

Bedfordview Montessori manager Michelle Fitchett said two street lights were fixed and the city workers were painting the traffic circle and the rest of the street.

Dlamini said, “To improve accountability, the city has also implemented a system feature: if a service call is ever closed without the issue being resolved, an automated message is sent back to the complainant via the same channel the reference number was received.

“If a query remains unresolved, residents are encouraged to escalate the matter to their ward councillor or directly to the Energy Department for intervention.”

ALSO READ: Bedfordview preschool fence hit twice by vehicles in three months

Dlamini said that during the city’s ongoing regular inspections, Angus Road safety would be assessed. He said speed calming measures that would be helpful for that road are road signage, road markings, pedestrian warning signs, speed feedback signs, and raised pedestrian crossings (speed humps).

The spokesperson said safety around schools is a priority for the city, as these areas accommodate high pedestrian activity.

To motorists driving within school zones, Dlamini said, “The city urges all motorists to exercise extreme caution when travelling through school zones and on the road.”