Pedestrians threaten ‘obstacle’ fence on R40
Some predestrians are threatening to remove it, as it means that they are no longer able to jaywalk from the bus stops across the road.
Several employees working in Riverside Park and Riverside Industrial are desperately unhappy about the ClearVu fence currently being erected on the median of the R40.
Some predestrians are threatening to remove it, as it means that they are no longer able to jaywalk from the bus stops across the road.
According to Ms Renate Scholle, manager of the Central Improvement District in Riverside, the fence doesn’t look great at the moment, but it does serve a purpose.
Several near-fatal accidents occurred previously when jaywalkers were hit by cars, and that was when the pedestrians only had to traverse four lanes. With the road having been widened, six lanes have now to be traversed, which makes it all the more dangerous.
The resident engineer of the road-widening project explained that this is exactly why Mbombela Local Municipality requested to have it installed – to improve pedestrian safety.
Scholle sid that once the contractors are done, Riverside Park will plant the medians to lessen the impact.
Apart from the fence, a hedge will be planted between the sidewalk and the road and pedestrian lights have been installed at the intersections. All of this is done to ensure the safety of the pedestrians and to reduce jaywalking.
“It is a very costly exercise and will ensure the safety of many pedestrians. Vandalising the fence is not the answer,” Scholle said.
