VRYHEID KZN: No funds to fix Mark and President streets
Not only do motorists have to ‘duck and dive’ the potholes, but they also have to be careful at stop streets since traffic signs are missing
In last week’s edition, the Vryheid Herald reported on the potholes and missing traffic signs in and around town. In February last year, it was indicated by the municipality that a budget of R2 million had been allocated, which was inclusive of a consultant’s fee dedicated towards fixing Mark and President streets. Both these streets need to be rehabilitated. Not only do motorists have to ‘duck and dive’ the potholes, but they also have to be careful at stop streets since traffic signs are missing. The municipality has responded in the meantime with the following:
The project of fixing the potholes is an ongoing project. We have had interruptions due to heavy rains, slowing the pace on the patching of potholes. We have a team scattered around town, Bhekuzulu and Lakeside, where they are continuing with the patching of potholes. On the issue of President and Mark Street, we had initially requested funding from the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG), but our request was denied on a reason that the MIG only gives funding for development in rural areas and not urban areas. This means that the municipality will have to co-fund these projects. We are currently looking into means to get funding. These two roads will need to be redone entirely. Once we have sourced funding, we will commence with the refurbishment.
The municipality is faced with a serious challenge of theft of road signs around the CBD and residential areas. Each week, we are required to replace those signs at a high cost. Taxpayers have to pay for new signs and these do not come cheap. So, there are economic issues that come from this criminal act. We therefore urge communities to report any person stealing or damaging road signs. Concerning the road markings backlog, the municipality has established a programme to address poor road marking conditions. The projected timeline is by the end of June 2022.
ALSO READ: VRYHEID KZN: What happened to the fixing of potholes?
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