Ballito M4 circle a safety threat at night

Frustrated motorists are calling for adequate visible signage and street lighting to be installed to increase safety at the newly-constructed circle along the M4 near Hilltop Estate.

Aside of two speed reduction warning signs within 100 metres of the circle, indicating a reduction to 60km/h, no signage exists to warn motorists of the circle after the blind rise.

Motorists say the circle poses a safety threat, especially at night.

Installing the traffic circle was one of the prerequisites for the Zimbali Lakes development approval and was agreed upon by the developers, the KwaDukuza municipality and transport department.

Construction was completed last October, said Zimbali senior vice president of operations, Wayne Krambeck.

With the handover, the transport department became the responsible authority managing the circle. The developers also submitted a list of additional safety recommendations to the department for approval, including street lights and extra signage.

The developer pointed out that the transport department had given a commitment to prioritise the matter, and once approved, the developer would carry the cost of installation.

Local medic, Paul Herbst of Medi Response, said he had responded to at least 9 accidents at the circle since December.

“These accidents were predominantly at night,” he said, noting the need for proper signage and street lighting.

The transport department had not responded to our request for comment at the time of publication.

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