A resident has raised serious concern for motorists at the busy corner of Homestead Avenue and Hospital Road.
According to resident Glen McFarlane, some motorists are not stopping at the stop sign at this corner. He noted the sign is not clearly visible and therefor people just drive over. To add, trucks park on both sides of the road posing other traffic concerns.
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He questioned whether it would be possible for the municipality to rather put up a sign that is higher than the trucks, paint the road and install speed humps to control traffic.
McFarlane stated there has been numerous crashes on that corner and he himself has been involved in a few. He stated people from the area know it is a stop sign but there are many others travelling on the road who are unaware of the stop sign.
“The main issue is safety. There is a hospital nearby as well as a pre-school and housing complexes. It is also a main road and many motorists make use of it,” said McFarlane.
He added the issue with the trucks parking on the side of the road does not only include the blocking of the stop sign but the disruption of traffic on the opposite side. He further mentioned the sidewalk is about 1m wide and the trucks park in the road, partially blocking the road. He also noted the wall of the housing complex on that side has been damaged. Other issues include littering and urination against a wall and the cabs of the trucks are also high enough for the occupants to see over the wall, invading residents’ privacy.
You don’t need a sign to see there is no parking on the sidewalk, so how does eight and sometimes even up to 12 trucks park here?” asked McFarlane.
Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM) was approached for comment, however, none was received at the time of print. Their feedback will be published once received.
