Metro police to monitor traffic
'To cut a long story short, 15 telephone calls later, I still did not speak to anyone at the traffic department'
LIZELLE writes:
It is with great sadness and disappointment that I am writing this letter.
On Friday afternoon there was load shedding, which is not a novelty at this stage. It affected the lights at the intersections of R25 and De Wiekus and at the R25 and Mooirivier Drive. As you all know, these are big intersections with cars going in multiple directions.
So I drove to Norkem Park Police Station to get the traffic department’s number, thinking I would notify them of the situation, perhaps then they could send a points man.
How wrong can I be? I obtained the number(s) which both just rang. Then I saw and asked a JMPD officer for an alternative number, this also just rang. To cut a long story short, 15 telephone calls later, I still did not speak to anyone at the traffic department and I prayed everybody got home safe.
It was sad thinking that if this was an “emergency”, what would have been the outcome? What is becoming of us and of basic humanity?
In the mornings De Wiekus might as well be classified a freeway, as the speed that people travel makes me feel like I am stuck in the classic scene from the Matrix. So how much worse will these roads not be on a Friday afternoon when everyone is hot and tired?
This letter may not mean much, but maybe, just maybe, it will change one heart to be more caring and then we have achieved a lot.
I sign off in the words of Einstein: “The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm, but because of those who look at it without doing anything”.
Chief Supt Wilfred Kgasago, metro police spokesman, replies:
We do admit that traffic problems are experienced in the Norkem Park area, especially during the peak periods.
The biggest issue is that ever since the road works commenced on the P51, most drivers use Birch Acres, Birchleigh North and Norkem Park as means of avoiding traffic snarl-ups on the P51.
We have been ensuring that our vehicles monitor the main routes, ie CR Swart Drive, P91 and P51. We also conduct law enforcement periodically during peak hours.
A special operation was conducted a few weeks ago at the corner of Mooifontein and Pongola, prompted by the spike in traffic volumes using the area since the construction work started. The P51 currently uses only one lane in each direction.
We shall conduct further operations targeting the P91 and Mooifontein Roads. We shall also tackle Julia Street.
