Witkoppen: hassle for motorists, safer for workers
PAULSHOF - Stop and Go's and speed bumps have angered commuters on Witkoppen Road during a construction period, but labourers have said they feel safer after the implementation of the speed control measures.
Many residents responded to the article “Residents rage over Witkoppen upgrade” (Fourways Review, week ending 10 October) with outrage about the speed control measures being used on Witkoppen Road during the construction period.
Briony French commented on the Fourways Review Facebook page, “It’s annoying, I now avoid Witkoppen all together. The speed bumps are horrid for bikes, they pull you sideways but no one ever thinks that these measures are dangerous. The first morning I discovered those bumps I almost crashed.”
Tash Bhairo commented, “Maybe if they didn’t have to repair the barriers every ten minutes, they would be able to finish by the end of November. I drive this road multiple times a day and it’s so frustrating to see no construction actually happening.”
However in a report about the Witkoppen upgrade project written by community liaison officer, Terrence Mulalo, it was mentioned that there had been two incidents during the upgrade. The first was when a labourer was knocked down by a speeding truck on 22 August and later died in hospital. The second was on 27 August when a sub-contractor was knocked by a car and taken to hospital for medical attention, fortunately he was discharged three days later.
Mulalo said the incidents were a shock to the other workers, most of whom did not want to return to work. He added that counselling had to be organised for the workers after the incidents.
It was decided that speed control measures like speed bumps and a stop-and-go system needed to be introduced to prevent further incidents. Mulalo said the workers felt much safer after the speed control measures were implemented. One of the comments from the workers which Mulalo included in his report was, “The incident really touched my heart and I never thought I would be free again to work on this road, but after counselling and the safety implementation done on the road, and the stop-and-go to slow down the cars, I feel much safer to work again.”
Read our previous stories here:
Residents rage over Witkoppen upgrade
Labourer knocked and killed on Witkoppen
