Council faults on promises to make Terrace Road safer
In just two weeks, two crashes occurred on the road which many believe could have been avoided, if council had taken action when it promised to do so.
Appeals from residents and councillors for safety on Terrace Road to be made a priority seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
In just two weeks, two crashes occurred on the road which many believe could have been avoided, if council had taken action when it promised to do so.
Following the death of four young adults at the intersection of Terrace and Columbus roads in April last year, the Ekurhuleni executive mayor, clr Mondli Gungubele, called on officials to ensure the road is made safer.
During the first council meeting following the fatal crash, Edenvale councillors again pleaded for council to take action and make safety on Terrace Road a priority.
According to the DA’s Clr Nicola Da Silva, during the first of two recent crashes, not a single member of the Ekurhuleni emergency services arrived on scene.
“Paramedics from a private ambulance service had no assistance rescuing an elderly woman trapped in her vehicle,” said Clr Da Silva.
She added that members of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD), SAPS and fire department should all have been at the scene.
“It is also the responsibility of emergency services to ensure that any petrol or oil spills are cleaned up; instead this task was left to residents in the area,” said Clr Da Silva.
The party believes that an immediate, short-term solution would be to install turning arrows from Terrace into both Fountain and Columbus roads.
In addition, permanent cameras along Terrace Road, between Drake and Main roads, would give the municipality time to conduct a traffic impact study.
Barely a week after an elderly woman was trapped in her vehicle, another serious crash occurred on the notorious stretch of road.
According to reports, a vehicle which was travelling at more than twice the legal speed limit of 60 km/h, went through a red traffic light and hit another vehicle resulting in serious injuries.
“Residents and motorists are not going to wait forever for council to take action,” said Clr Da Silva.
She added that the opposition party had demanded that Ekurhuleni immediately appoint a contractor to conduct a traffic advisory study, as was promised by the mayor last year.
“If the EMM had instituted any of the short term actions such as permanent cameras or regular EMPD patrols to stop the appalling behaviour of some drivers along Terrace Road, the accident rate would drop dramatically,” said Clr Da Silva.
The NEWS sent a media enquiry regarding road safety on Terrace Road to the spokesperson for the EMM, Mr Themba Gadebe, for comment on October 1.
Comment was requested by October 3, but at the time of going to print on October 6, no comment was received.
