RESIDENTS from Covid-19 in Mfuleni are fed up with several accidents on Old Faure Road, which passes through their kasi.
Though the area is a 60km/hr zone, many motorists allegedly drive fast as if “they are on a freeway”, causing the deaths of residents in the area.
On Sunday, 28 January and Monday, 29 January, residents set alight tyres on the road in protest of accidents that keep happening in their kasi.
One of the residents said in December 2023 and January 2024 alone, about five people were hit by speeding vehicles.
Community leader, Khanyisa Mguqulwa (45) said: “We have had enough of these deaths that can be prevented. We want the City of Cape Town to do something. We tried to put up some speed humps, but metro cops chased us over the weekend. We want the municipality to intervene, otherwise we are going to lose a lot of people here."
Residents said there was an accident on Friday, 26 January that happened along that road because of a speeding taxi. They said the manner in which vehicles speed in their kasi is the same as they do on freeways such as N1 and N2.
ALSO READ | Amateur hijackers crash into a house!
Resident, Lumkile Mbulawa (52) said they are fed up so they erected speed humps.
“It is our problem and it is affecting our people here, hence we are acting, otherwise those in high places will not understand. These motorists drive fast as if on a freeway and our lives are in danger. This road has become a death trap. A lot of people have died and we cannot keep counting the deaths without doing something about it,” he said.
MMC for Urban Mobility, Rob Quintas said they will investigate other ways to calm traffic in the area. On the demand for speed humps, Quintas said they are not the appropriate solution.
“Old Faure Road is classified as Class 3 Minor Arterial, which is a higher order arterial route, meaning it carries a high volume of traffic and that the road design must facilitate and promote mobility and access. As such, physical traffic calming measures such as speed humps and raised pedestrian crossings are not appropriate forms of speed control.
“We have already established that the traffic calming policy would not support the installation of any raised measures on this class 3 route. The circumstances leading to the crash will need to be investigated to determine the likely cause/s and hence whether any other intervention/s may be required,” said Quintas.
