Various stakeholders came together on Wednesday 12 March to address an urgent school safety and taxi matter that has been bugging Hoërskool Roodepoort for some time.
Present at the meeting were representatives from the City of Joburg Region C law enforcement and transport; the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD), Hoërskool Roodepoort and Die Adelaar as well as Councillor Willie van der Schyf.
Some of the major concerns include speeding along König Avenue situated next to the school and motorists ignoring basic road traffic laws, putting the lives of schoolchildren in danger. Surprisingly, taxis are not the only ones to blame as ordinary motorists, even motorists from the South African Police Service (SAPS) also are guilty of disregarding the law.
According to Piet Crous, deputy principal of Roodepoort, “This problem started in 2009. How long or must a pupil be killed before any of us take action?”
Crous added that their cry for help has been ongoing for the past four years and only now something is finally going to be done. This follows a petition being drawn up by the school and parents in 2009 and three separate letters expressing the same concerns to relevant bodies in February 2010, October 2012 and November 2013.
Another concern was that taxi drivers sell cigarettes and drugs to pupils. Die Adelaar seems to have experienced similar concerns as Roodepoort and used this meeting to be heard. In their case taxis use South Road (situated next to the school) as a route with the problem again being speeding. They also mentioned the concern of a cafe situated near the school, of drugs being sold to pupils outside the school and Metrobus obstructing traffic.
“That’s why we are here,” Van der Schyf said.
“Clearly there are two issues, one being the behaviour of taxis/ motorists and the taxi operators/ bus transporting our pupils. There is no overnight solution but the matter will be investigated. We will work with all the relevant stakeholders and do our utmost best to sort out these issues,” he added.
Another representative from Region C added that, “The parents are probably not aware of the issues. We need them, the JMPD, City of Joburg and schools to come together regularly to come up with a solution.”
The representative even went as far as to say that “This includes an invitation to the said culprits, being Metrobus, taxi drivers and random motorists to make them aware of what is going on.”
The next meeting is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 25 March again at Hoërskool Roodepoort.
Some of the solutions suggested were that:
• the corner of König Avenue and 8th Avenue be closed, forcing taxi drivers and other vehicles to use Paul Kruger Avenue/ Mouton Street as a route instead of travelling directly past the school. This can be done but the Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA) has to come aboard
• in terms of speeding, the JMPD will assist aggressively during peak times in the morning and afternoons to ensure that motorists abide to traffic laws
• SAPS needs to carry out more random but regular raids at schools, inside and outside the school premises to tackle issues of buying and selling drugs, cigarettes and weapons
Deputy principal of Hoërskool Roodepoort, Piet Crous shook hands with Joburg Councillor Willie van der Schyf following a successful Road Traffic Scholar meeting on Wednesday, 12 March.
