However, it seems to have achieved the opposite so far.
There’s been an uproar regarding the timing of the traffic lights at the intersection of Trichardts and Ravenswood roads.
Since the installation of the new traffic lights due to the new stretch of Ravenswood Road between Bartlett and Trichardts, motorists have been greatly inconvenienced.
For motorists turning left into Trichardts from Ravenswood, the wait has increased from a manageable one to three minutes to a frustrating nine to 13 minutes.
Previously there was a flicker arrow to the left, which helped to speed up the flow of traffic, but this has since been removed.
This has led to many residents questioning if any proper impact studies were done regarding traffic flow and, if so, what the outcomes of such studies were.
A resident who wished to remain anonymous said that in the construction phase they started working on a shoulder lane in Ravenswood Road which would have allowed a slipway into Trichardts Road.
“Halfway through they then just reinstated the pavement, eradicating the slip road that was to be. Was the original plan to have a slipway, and why was the idea shelved? Was this due to budgetary constraints?” asked the resident.
The resident added: “This project has run out of funds more than once, where construction stopped, and later continued. They also changed contractors over the construction period.
“The contractor has also on three separate occasions hit the same electric cable, cutting power to surrounding areas for hours at a time. Surely, if it is being constructed by council themselves, they should know where the lines run?
“This blunder with the arrow, as well as power cuts during construction, are causing endless frustration. I am not at all pleased with the way things have been done.
“It seems as though thorough consideration has not been put into the planning phase, or plans were changed to suit a dwindling budget and residents are now sitting worse off. If this is the impact on traffic the road may as well never have been built.”
Resident Annett Kriel has two complaints. She said, firstly, that taking away the left-turn arrows from Ravenswood into Trichardts was a mistake – “not sure who was the bright planner who decided to do that.”
Secondly, she added: “The traffic light in Trichardts Road is green for one minute 30 seconds and for Ravenswood it’s only 15 seconds. That is crazy,” she said.
“It takes longer now to get home from work and it is frustrating.
“People are doing illegal U-turns, and driving over a red traffic light turning left into Trichardts. Frustrations are building up.
“Rather put the arrows back because when that road opens you will see a lot of mayhem and some serious accidents.”
Another resident, Megan Repsold, said that since they have removed the flicker arrow, she has seen a near accident and many illegal U-turns taking place due to traffic build-up. “It is really frustrating as the peak times (after school and after 4pm) are a nightmare to get through the traffic light.”
She said the new setup makes absolutely no sense as the flicker arrow worked perfectly before.
Ward 22 councillor Ruhan Robinson explained the situation to the Advertiser.
He said the project has just been completed and handed over to the metro.
“The metro is measuring and studying the traffic flow patterns and they will adjust it accordingly in a week or two – the flicker will be fixed,” said Robinson.
He is not certain when the extended road will be officially open to traffic.
