A BURST water pipe is yet another item to be added to the lists of damages that inconsiderate truck drivers have caused by illegally parking their heavy vehicles in Teignmouth Road.
Last week Berea Mail highlighted the concerns of Teignmouth Road residents who had reported a wet patch on the roadside for the past month. Residents were concerned that heavy trucks had damaged a water pipe by parking on top of it.
According to resident, Johan De Beer, last week a truck parked at this exact spot and had damaged the pipe further so that it burst. The driver drove off with water shooting out of the ground from the broken pipe behind him.
“There used to be poles across this section of the verge to stop people parking there, however these were taken away. They should be put back,” he said.
De Beer said he witnessed a tanker park in front of Tiloch flats last week in such a way that residents exiting the property could not see any oncoming traffic.
“I phoned Metro Police and they did come out and fined the tanker R500. I thank Metro Police for that. After Metro Police fined the tanker, we had no tankers parked there for six days, however, on Saturday 1 November a truck with two trailers parked on the grassy verge off Hillier Road in front of a manhole that was damaged by a truck which I pointed out. The driver then drove over the manhole and damaged it more,” said de Beer.
He said on Sunday a truck parked in front of the Tiloch driveway gate, and Metro Police responded to his call an hour and 15 minutes later. “In the meantime, the truck in front of our driveway left and another truck took its place.
I asked Metro why they didn’t fine the truck, and the other five parked in Hillier Road as this was a nine ton zone and the trucks were 18 tons. The police wanted to know where the nine ton sign was and asked that I show them the sign, which I did. They mentioned the trucks could enter from Umbilo Road into Hillier Road and there said there were not weight restricting signboards in Umbilo Road.”
