Municipality is responsible for accidents

I am a retired registered professional civil engineer and a highways and transportation engineer, and the article “No go for Tiffany’s robots” (Courier, January 22) does not amaze me. Obviously the Kwadukuza municipality department of economic development and planning, and town planning, must have passed the plans for the construction of Tiffany’s Shopping Centre with the access as constructed, along with the garage/filling station and all other developments around this extremely dangerous intersection.
Perhaps the KZN DoT chief traffic engineer should have been made aware of those developments by KDM, who do not appear to have the required knowledge to recognise that there is a direct and recognisable severe danger at this interchange, and at that time taken the necessary steps to avoid the situation that he is now faced with prior to Tiffany’s being built. He talks of an ideal situation which the municipality department of ED & P, town planners and civil engineers should have recognised before approving and passing the plans for the developments which now have to live with a very dangerous intersection.
At peak traffic period KDM must provide traffic officers to control the traffic at this intersection and must obviously accept the responsibility for any accidents or injuries as they approved and passed the plans for construction knowing what the actual situation was/is but not recognising the dangers to the public of their decisions.

GEORGE N GRAY
Ballito