Concern has been raised about the recent installation of a pedestrian crossing on a main route.
The Record has received numerous complaints about the recently installed pedestrian crossing on Ontdekkers Road. The general complaint is that the pedestrian crossing was installed “suddenly” and is “becoming a problem for traffic on the road and the safety of commuters”.
According to complaints the pedestrian crossing lacks proper signage and remains without a stop street or a traffic light.
Residents have been asking, “How can pedestrians cross the road if it is so unsafe?”
Other complaints were logged with the Record about minibus taxis that frequently stop on the side of Ontdekkers Road near the pedestrian crossing. Minibus taxis also pick up and drop of commuters at this pedestrian crossing.
Some questions came to mind as residents’ complaints streamed in. How safe is a pedestrian crossing on a main route without signage and with the added danger of taxis racing to and from it? How useful has the formalised taxi rank in the Westgate Shopping Centre’s parking lot been if taxis are using Ontdekkers Road as a pick-up and drop-off point? Was the crossing installation motivated by Westgate Shopping Centre or was it a Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) decision?
Is JRA planning to put up signage and are they considering at least a yield sign and at most another traffic light for the crossing? Is the JMPD aware of the problems surrounding this crossing and what are they doing about it?
Some of these questions have been submitted to JMPD spokespersons Wayne Minnaar and Edna Mamonyane. Although Minnaar has not replied, Mamonyane says that the JMPD “was not even aware of the installation, nor the problems thereof”. Upon her request the Record sent through questions for official comment, which to date haven’t been answered. Westgate Shopping Centre is yet to respond to questioning.
The Record will continue its investigation.
