THE principal of a preschool situated on the corner of Columbine Avenue and Ormonde Street, Mondeor, is concerned about traffic volumes in the area which, he believes, pose a danger to the children at the school.
Shereda Farrell, principal of the school, and office manager Malcolm Farrell shared these concerns with the CHRONICLE.
“We are concerned about the volume of traffic on Columbine Avenue throughout the day and the lack of any measures being taken by the Joburg Metro Police, or any other authorities, to calm the traffic. There is an obvious lack of traffic signs, such as speed restrictions, speed cameras and hazardous road condition warning signs,” said an upset Malcolm.
He believes the volume of daily traffic passing the school has increased considerably over the past few years and brought with it a large percentage of motorists who noticeably exceed the speed limit for a suburban area. He adds that there has also been a dramatic increase in accidents along this stretch of Columbine Avenue, especially during wet weather.
“On Christmas Day, a motorist travelling along Columbine Avenue in wet weather, lost control of her vehicle as the road bends to the right at the intersection of Ormonde Street. Her vehicle spun out of control and smashed into the boundary wall of the school’s property, knocking down a large section of the wall as well as the main entrance gate,” Malcolm said.
“Fortunately, this happened during the school holiday so there were no children on the premises. If there were children here at the time, many could have sustained injuries.”
Then, on Saturday, January 7, another driver also lost control at the same spot and this time smashed into the street light, flattening it entirely.
“The very next day, another motorist lost control of his vehicle just outside the school and ended up mowing down all the trees and shrubs over a fairly large distance on the island,” Malcolm said. “Both these incidents happened in wet weather.”
Malcolm says these three accidents were the most recent but accidents are commonplace on Columbine Avenue, throughout the year.
“We don’t get much response for traffic calming measures to be introduced and we have grave concerns that a continuation of this pattern and aggressive driving may lead to the physical injury of a child at our school. Parents living around the schools in the area have all expressed concern with the traffic conditions and frequency of accidents, and are keen to see measures introduced for change,” he said.
Little Leaders Academy and another school, Maylill Nursery School, are requesting traffic calming measures to be introduced. They would like to see these include speed humps, fixed cameras, robots, traffic warning and danger signs and also signs indicating the presence of schools and, therefore, slower speeds.
“Warnings also need to be erected for motorists to be cautious when driving in wet conditions and drivers need to be alerted to the fact that the road curves at a certain point,” Malcolm added.
The local ward 54 councillor has been contacted for comment regarding this matter.
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