Residents raise R30 000 to install a speed hump
RADIOKOP – Two speed humps will be installed on Opera Road after residents raised funds for a safer neighbourhood.
Radiokop Resident’s Association has raised a sum of R30 000 to install a speed hump on Opera Road.
According to the chairman Greg Olson, the association received permission from Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) to have two speed humps installed on the road.
“There have been a lot of accidents on this road because of speeding cars. Most of these are caused by people returning from a number of drinking establishments around the area,” Olsen said.
“People leave the drinking pubs at night, drive at a high speed and crash into other people’s cars, fences and nearby postboxes. They fail to negotiate the sharp bend.”
He added that even during the day, there is a high risk of accidents caused by speeding cars, which endanger children who attend pre-schools nearby.
“[The speed humps] will reduce the number of short cuts taken by drivers to the neighbourhoods and to the area.”
Olson said the second speed hump will be installed by JRA.
“We have paid a deposit to a private contractor and now await confirmation of the date of installation,” he said.
He also mentioned that the R30 000 includes signage and painting.
A resident who lives in Opera Road, Jaco Hamilton-Attwell, said he stays close to the bend on the road. “In the morning when we leave for work, this road is dangerous, especially from cars turning in,” he added.
Hamilton-Attwell also said as residents, they hope the speed humps will alleviate the volume of traffic on the road as motorists would opt for Christiaan de Wet Road to avoid the humps.
JRA’s communications manager Bertha Peters-Scheepers said following their discussions with the association, the JRA undertook to erect a speed hump alongside the one installed at the association’s cost. “The approximate cost of a speed hump is R50 000 and JRA has undertaken to do the installation as soon as funds become available. We are also liaising on an ongoing basis with Olson from the association to ensure the humps are erected to the benefit of the community and road users,” she added.
