Nightmare intersection needs attention
When the traffic lights closest to Longmeadow change to green for those in the median to cross over, the second set of lights closest to Stoneridge remains red for a short time.
Modderfontein resident, Craig Holwill said he will continue raising his concerns over a deadly Greenstone intersection until someone takes notice.
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Holwill first contacted the NEWS in November last year to highlight the danger motorists face when crossing Modderfontein Road using Hereford Road.
In the letter submitted to the paper, he referred to the intersection as a death trap.
At the time he had witnessed three collisions at the intersection, but since then he said there had been at least eight more crashes.
“There are two sets of traffic lights at the Hereford Road intersection with the P91. The miss timing of the two traffic lights causes confusion and results in serious crashes on an almost weekly basis,” Holwill said.
The NEWS met Holwill at the intersection last week where he pointed out several issues with the intersection.
Motorists travelling from Stoneridge to Longmeadow are faced with a set of traffic lights on either side of Modderfontein Road.
When the traffic lights closest to Longmeadow change to green for those in the median to cross over, the second set of lights closest to Stoneridge remains red for a short time.
Holwill said the problem with that is the red lights are not clearly visible.
“When the second set of lights changes the motorists waiting at the first set of lights think they can also go but there is still oncoming traffic from Modderfontein Road heading towards Greenstone. This is where the crashes happen,” he said.
Holwill pointed out that there is also only one traffic light facing the first stopping point at the intersection.
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“It’s placed in the middle of the intersection and is easily overlooked by people driving across on Hereford Road.
“The second traffic light for this Stoneridge side of the intersection is placed so far back that the first row of waiting motorists cannot see it,” Holwill said.
He believes the number of collisions at the intersection would be greatly reduced by only setting the timing of the traffic light to change green at the same time.
“The lights at both sides of the intersection turn red at the same time, why can’t they be set to change green at the same time”.
This seemingly simple synchronisation solution is something Holwill brought up when he first contact the NEWS last year.
In response to his letter, spokesperson for the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), Nthatisi Modingoane said the intersection would be investigated as a matter of urgency.
“It will require site visits at various times of the day by the engineers over the next couple of days.
“An update report and plans will be made available in the coming week,” he said at the time.
But, Holwill said this doesn’t seem to have happened.
“After the NEWS received the comment I made a point of driving through the intersection multiple times every day for quite a few days. No one was ever there to investigate,” he said.
The NEWS sent an enquiry to the media team for CoJ questioning whether investigations were done into the synchronisation of the traffic lights at the intersection.
The enquiry which was sent on March 1 also focused on the CoJ’s plans to make the intersection safer.
Comment and answers were requested by March 4.
At the time of going to print, no comment had been received.
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