Stop signs drive motorists to despair
The four-way stop has become a headache for road users.
Motorists are becoming increasingly frustrated and fearful when having to travel through one of Brakpan’s busiest intersections.
The traffic lights at the crossing of Elsburg and Heidelberg roads (R554/R23) near Carnival City have not been functional for months, and stop signs have since been erected.
The Brakpan Herald has been inundated with complaints from motorists about this four-way stop, which results in lengthy delays.
“I really think that we, as residents of Brakpan, should do something about the fact that the robots have been changed to a four-way stop,” said one affected road user, Amanda Goosen.
“There have been multiple accidents at that crossing.”
According to Goosen, there were no pointsmen directing the traffic at the intersection last Monday, which resulted in heavy congestion.
She added it was also the fifth morning since the previous week that the pointsmen had been absent.
“The cars piled up far beyond the entrance of Dalpark Ext 1. We need to be heard somehow and somewhere, because this is really getting ridiculous.”
She stated it took 45 minutes that Monday morning to travel from the Dalpark Ext 1 exit to the intersection.
“This is uncalled for and even without an accident, which is normally the reason for the traffic piling up.
“I know there are a lot of residents that feel the same way, and we should stand together and demand to either get the robots back or the traffic department needs to place officers there every morning and afternoon.”
There have also been complaints about an increase in general lawlessness at this intersection.
When there is no traffic gridlock, there have been reports of motorists ignoring the stop signs and speeding through the intersection.
As reported by the Herald in October last year, the responsibility of the traffic lights falls within the ambit of the provincial government.
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The problem is, however, not only a Brakpan one. Many of the traffic lights on the R23 along Snake Road in Benoni have also been changed to four-way stops.
The traffic lights along these major routes are often targeted by vandals and thieves, and it has reportedly become an expensive practice to repair or replace them.
The Herald approached the EMPD for comment on the matter, asking how often officers are deployed to the intersection and for statistics on traffic accidents at the crossing, but none was received at the time of publication.
Comment was also not forthcoming from the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport.
