Motorists’ traffic nightmare ignored by municipality

POLOKWANE – Motorists say traffic is a nightmare in some parts of the city during peak hours, but the municipality disregards their complaints and suggestions on how to improve the situation.

At the intersection of Landdros Maré and Vermikuliet Street motorists say the arrow at the three-phase traffic light does not work in the morning.

“Traffic is so badly congested it reaches all the way from this intersection to the intersection at Landdros Maré and Veldspaat Street. It is only in the morning that the arrow is not working; during the day it is operational. This has been going on for more than two weeks,” a motorist explained.

Another resident said traffic at any time of the day was a problem at the intersection of Veldspaat and Landdros Maré Street.

“Vehicles coming from Louis Trichardt do not have much of a problem as the way is usually clear for them.

“It is the vehicles coming from the Polokwane direction in Landdros Maré Street that want to turn into Veldspaat Street that have a problem. Only one or two vehicles cross this traffic light during a cycle because the cars do not get an opportunity to turn due to oncoming traffic. Some risk it to turn in front of oncoming traffic. If the traffic light was a three-phase robot, it would help a lot,” the motorist said.

Motorists are also very frustrated with the lack of traffic flow at the traffic light on the corner of Witklip and Vermikuliet Street next to the municipal traffic department.

“There are two lanes: one is for turning and the other for driving straight. There are so many trucks using this road that motorists who have to drive straight are forced to swerve out of their lane into the turning lane, otherwise by the time they get to the traffic light it has changed already and they have to wait for it to go green again, which takes more than five minutes.

The municipality should either make the road bigger so that there is another going-straight lane, or the lane that is supposed to be for turning only must be changed into a going-straight lane as well,” a motorist said.

The motorist added that this problem caused a traffic pile-up during peak hours, which blocked the intersection at Mika and Vermikuliet Street, where there is a stop sign.

According to the motorists these traffic dilemmas are frustrating and will soon escalate into a series of serous accidents if the municipality does not address them soon.

Tidimalo Chuene, municipal spokesperson, said there were no traffic problems in the city and that motorists must practise patience on the roads or use alternative routes.

Chuene could not give any comment on the problems at the intersection of Landdros Maré and Vermikuliet Street or Landdros Maré and Veldspaat Street and only commented on the problems at the intersection of Witklip and Vermikuliet Street.

“The intersection is well controlled. We urge motorists to be patient and use alternative routes to relieve the congestion at those points. The municipality will look into the feasibility of broadening the Vermikuliet and Witklip Street intersection.”