Speed hump to help senior citizens navigate better

An 18-year long battle to get a speed hump built on View Street in Elarduspark finally saw the light of day.

The residents of Sunrise View retirement village faced near-accidents trying to enter or exit the premises, as the curvy road prevents them from seeing any fast approaching vehicles.

“The road has a curve that prevents you from seeing any approaching cars when you exit the retirement home,” said chairperson for the village’s home owner’s association John Campher.

“When our residents turned onto the road, they would suddenly realise there is a car behind them and it would almost bump into them.”

“Our residents are old and they drive relatively slow, so cars approaching could easily smash into them.

“We’ve been wanting this speed bump built ever since 2003.”

Campher said they have experienced near accidents in the past and the speed hump had brought relief to that stress.

Since the speed hump was built in February, he said they had seen an improvement in the movement of vehicles on that street.

“There is less pressure when our resident’s exit or enter because approaching cars can slow down,” he said.

“We are very happy that we finally have the hump.

“The safety of all road users is very important and we obviously want to ensure our residents are also safe.”

He said other work still needs to be done to improve road safety in the area, but he was optimistic that this was a step in the right direction.

Ward councillor Daryl Johnston said he made it a priority when the problem was brought to his attention in April 2018.

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During this period Johnston was just a candidate in the ward’s by-election.

“They had been struggling for a long time without success,” he said.

“I took this up after winning my by-election and today was able to fulfil my promise to them.

“This makes it so much safer for them to enter and exit their entrance on View St Elarduspark.”

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