Accidents in Van der Merwe Street – “We’ve had it!”
Locals suggest solutions for the problem road.
Local drivers are frustrated with the situation in Van der Merwe Street. Accidents regularly occur at the street’s intersections.
On January 25, Nelspruit Post reported on one of these.
Stop streets at the intersections of Van der Merwe and Ehmke, Murray, and Marloth Streets are often skipped. Nelspruit Post’s readers voiced their opinions on what they called a “problem area” recently. This follows after a video of the street was posted onto Facebook. “Do you think the area needs more stop streets, speed bumps, or a traffic circle?” the paper asked.
“Anything will be better than the current situation,” said Sonja Smart. “Especially the crossing of Ehmke and Van der Merwe streets. The number of accidents happening there is ridiculous,” she said. “In the beginning of February, I was involved in an accident in the right lane. Drivers of vehicles travelling bumper-to-bumper cannot see those at the stop streets… Something needs to be done there,” she said.
According to Henry Skinner, each intersection should be made into a four-way stop.
“It will give everyone a chance to cross,” he said. Henry feels that traffic circles will not work. “It will not slow down the street’s traffic. Look at how the traffic suffers from Russell Street into Piet Retief Street. The cars come too fast from Piet Retief Street’s side,” he said.
Jan Henning agreed. “Drivers making their way from Mosterd Street to Van der Merwe Street tend to speed,” he said. However, he does not think that speed wobbles will slow down local drivers. “The guys with the large SUV’s enjoy speed bumps as a 4×4 experience,” he commented. “I think ‘dips’ can help and will also serve a storm water-draining purpose,” he said.
“Traffic in the direction of Laerskool Nelspruit is a problem. It stalls traffic and people take chances driving too fast,” she said.
Koekie Pretorius added that people drive like maniacs throughout the city.
“We need many four-way stops,” said Alma Swanepoel. “One at every street,” chimed in Thea Rix.
Deon Minnaar wondered whether people would actually stop at the stop streets. Traffic circles were also suggested. According to Nicolene Potgieter, traffic circles will not work in the city, as locals don’t know how to use them. “Rather four way stops, but then again – will that stop speedsters?”
According to City of Mbombela Local Municipality spokesman Mr Joseph Ngala, no stop streets are in the pipeline van Van der Merwe Street. It is prohibited by law.
“The Road Traffic Act is clear on when a four or three way stop can be implemented,” he said. According to Ngala, Van der Merwe has been classified as a “main collector road,” which means no stop signs can be placed there. Ngala added that stop signs may not be used as speed calming measures.
According to Potgieter, traffic cops should be deployed in the area to regulate traffic. This was echoed by a number of Facebook users.
