KEN MARTIN writes:
Bergeend Street in Birch Acres is an accident waiting to happen.
We received approval from the council for one speed hump to be placed on Bergeend Street on July 18, 2018, after the council did a study.
To date, nothing has been done. On following up we were advised there was no money in the budget at the time.
A year and a half later and we are still waiting.
Our councillor, Tracey Lourenco, has tried her best, but without success. Her protestations have fallen on deaf ears.
On Friday night (December 13) a driver overtook three cars at the stop street at the intersection of Bergeend and Loerie streets, lost control and ploughed through a garden wall.
Fortunately, no one was killed. The driver was, however, taken to hospital by ambulance. The fire brigade was on the scene as well to assist if required.
Must someone get killed before the council will act?
This undesirable situation continues daily, where drivers totally ignore the stop signs. Residents are sick and tired and disgruntled because they have difficulty entering or leaving their property.
Also read:
Themba Gadebe, spokesperson for the metro, replies:
The request was evaluated in accordance with the City of Ekurhuleni Traffic Calming Policy. After an investigation, this department made provision for one speed hump along the investigated section of Bergeend Street to improve road safety.
A response letter dated July 18, 2018, was sent to the applicant. It was stated that the requested speed hump would be scheduled for implementation during the 2018/19 financial year, and then rolled over to the following financial year for implementation.
Unfortunately, the proposed hump could not be implemented during 2018/19 financial year and is currently on a waiting list for implementation during 2019/20 financial year, which will end June 30.
Speeding and irresponsible driver behaviour are enforcement issues. Speeding on public roads can only be controlled by the metro police department.
In order to address safety issues, we cannot look at the engineering element separately as there are other elements that play a huge role in improving road safety, i.e. law enforcement and driver behaviour.
The road geometry of the investigated road is up to standard and sight distance is sufficient, therefore the issue is purely driver behaviour.
