Call for speed humps garners business support

BUSINESSES situated at the intersection of Cromwell and Brand Roads, Glenwood, have come out in support of resident, Tony Ball’s repeated appeals for authorities to force motorists to stop at the four-way stop street at the intersection.

Ball, who has approached the Berea Mail many times about this issue, said the problem had worsened. He said some motorists did not even try to slow down at the intersection. According to Ball, the situation is so upsetting that when he eats at Corner Cafe, he can’t bear to sit facing the road, as he is consumed with anger when motorists ignore the stop street.

“I have been in contact with ward councillor, Nicole Graham and the municipality for the past two years, pointing out that it is a highly dangerous spot. I, and have even offered to pay to have rubber speed bumps installed at the four stopping areas. This will force people to stop, so they don’t damage their vehicles. This intersection can’t be policed 24/7,” he said.

Ball said he feared a terrible accident could occur where either a driver, passenger or patron at Corner Cafe Ambrosia would be hurt.

Owner of Corner Cafe Ambrosia, George Kyriacou, told Berea Mail he had witnessed drivers going right through the intersection at speed.

“I hate to think what would happen in the case of an accident. Some days the cars take off, racing down the road. It takes one second and one fool to cause havoc, and for a vehicle to crash into my business or the tearoom. It’s very dangerous and I’m concerned, as this happens right in front of our restaurant. Speed bumps are necessary,” he said.

A resident at Brandwell, a block of flats at the intersection, said there was an accident in June 2011, where a vehicle tumbled and smashed into the boundary fence of the flats..

“No one was hurt, but if someone had been walking past, it would have been a different story,” she said.

She said drivers travelling from Brand Road towards Alan Paton Road were the main culprits as there was a long stretch for them to speed up before the intersection.

“There is plenty warning that the intersection is approaching. It is worse at night as drivers can see there are no headlights approaching the intersection. There are rubber speed bumps on the raods near Gateway and I think they would work well here. Robots are not necessary,” she said.

John van der Merwe, chairman of Brandwell, said as long as he has lived in the building he has tried to do something about motorists speeding through the intersection.

“Motorists use the road as a drag way. We can hear them changing gears as they go along the road towards the intersection. A year ago Metro Police sat on each corner and made a fortune out of fines!” he said.

Darrel Williams from Urban Pizza is another concerned businessman who witnesses motorists speeding through the intersection every day.

“Some motorists slow down slightly, while others don’t care and go straight through at high speed. The municipality has done a traffic count. Putting in speed bumps won’t cost an arm and a leg, but will put an end to this scary affair. There’s no excuse for motorists not to stop, I feel Durbanites don’t know how to use a four-way stop! The scary thing is you can’t see what’s coming until you’re right into the intersection. The road is blocked by bush and is not well lit,” he said.

Williams said there was a warning that a stop street was approaching, but felt there should also be amber flashing lights.

“The road also needs repainting. The municipality uses bad quality paint which only lasts four months,” he said.

Charisse and Paul Boshoff from Mooki Noodles agreed that speed bumps were necessary.

“Cars come flying along the road and don’t see the stop. Trucks don’t have the time to stop and go through. This happens all the time,” said Charisse.

“I don’t understand why people are speeding on the road. There are still school children walking on the pavement as this is a school area, and people should be driving slower. There have been too many near misses at the intersection,” said Paul.

Ward councillor Nicole Graham said she felt there was a very definite need for intervention at the intersection.

“A number of residents and local businesses are very concerned. It is simply not enough to say Metro Police must enforce the by-laws at the intersection, as we all know that this is highly unlikely and not a sustainable solution. Similarly, there are many other traffic issues in the community that I have referred to the relevant authorities but unfortunately they are not responsive. I fully support a solution for this area and have repeatedly tried to get officials to implement one,” she said.

In previous reports on the matter, Carlos Esteves, deputy head of the Road System Management at eThekwini Transport Authority, said that speed humps were installed based on a set of criteria that council approved and the eTA were not in a position to deviate from it. He said the use of speed humps to attempt to enforce stop streets was not endorsed by the policy nor was it favoured. He said Metro Police should be enforcing violations to force motorists to comply.