Why Joburgers fear the rain

The South African Weather Service has indicated that rain around the city is expected until next week Tuesday. No flood warnings have been issued yet, but considering the ongoing flooding on roads, it will be no surprise if roads turn to rivers with the downpours. This means danger.

The City of Johannesburg has big plans to fix the problem of failing roads, with an expected R469 400 000 in the 2014/2015 budget.

Storm water maintenance is said to be in the budget’s reach, but the north of Johannesburg seems to be down on the list of ‘hard hit’ areas when it comes to infrastructure destruction from floods.

Storm water maintenance is currently aimed at Bramfisherville, Devland, Elias Motsoaledi, Sol Plaaitjie in Roodepoort and Mathosville.

With heavy traffic on roads such as Witkoppen Road, William Nicol Drive, Jan Smuts Avenue, Bryanston Drive and Bompas Road, rain has caused irreplaceable damage to roads and the psyche of motorists.

Many motorists have become fed-up with traffic lights that don’t work and roads that are crumbling, feeling that these issues are never fixed permanently.

Does this mean the City of Johannesburg has forgotten about Joburg’s suburbs stretching from Fourways down to Parktown?

Even Mr Fix-it struggles

No, the Johannesburg Roads Agency tries to attend to issues, but due to the lack of maintenance, roads such as Uranium Road next to Fourways Gardens no longer suffer from simple potholes – entire stretches of tarmac are washed away.

One city councillor has emerged as the roads agency’s ‘whisperer’. Ward 102’s David Potter has developed a keen repertoire with entities such as the roads agency Potter has an excellent way of using community reporting on Twitter to log issues with the agency. A quick scroll on his profile proves there is much that can be done to ensure the roads in the north at least stay maintained, as little major construction is planned.

The councillor, with his solid working relationship with the agency, is also unabashedly critical of their workflow.

He said, “The true state of our roads is beginning to show. Potholes have developed on nearly every road in the city, with some worse than others. It is clear that the agency is behind with preventative road maintenance. While the Mayor and the roads agency have

launched a road resurfacing programme, which is encouraging, the timeframe to restore roads to the condition that they should be will take many years.”

Potter also said there was some evidence that the agency continually undertook their work in a confusing manner.

“Where they try pothole repairs, it is noted time and time again the poor workmanship of pothole repairs [related to possible lack of supervision, lack of sealing material, lack of training on how to fill a pothole, or just poor workmanship]. Pothole repairs last a few days or weeks. A pothole in Lonehill has been filled two or three times this year and is on a busy corner. I am monitoring the depot’s pathetic attempt to attend to this one pothole.”

Don’t be complacent

While Potter might be able to help with getting road users closer to a solution, he is merely a facilitator: residents need to take action for themselves. Continuously logging complaints ensures there is ammunition against the agency when they do not not take action.

Log complaints and keep a record of times, as well as reference numbers.

Potholes need to be reported to the roads agency’s hotline@jra.org.za; 011 375 5555011 375 5555.

“There is a limit to the number of times a pothole can be reported and temporarily repaired. Residents of this city are getting tired of reporting matters related to simple service [delivery],” Potter said.

In the long run, Johannesburg Mayor Parks Tau has promised that Joburg is committed to safer roads, but for now the north seems to be forgotten.

Tips for the long wait

John October of Dial Direct Insurance shared the following tips to drive in wet weather, and for avoiding potholes:

•  Always turn on your vehicle’s headlights when driving in wet weather. In heavy rain, use the brightest setting for your car’s tail-lights to improve visibility for vehicles behind you.

•  Make sure that your wiper blades are in good condition and do a good, clean sweep to ensure maximum visibility.

•  Avoid the build-up of fog on the inside of your car windows as this dramatically reduces visibility. Use the anti-fog features found on most modern cars or open the window slightly.

•  Check that you have sufficient tread on your tyres. This minimises the chances of aquaplaning. Though the South African legal limit is a minimum of 1mm of tyre tread, anything below 3mm can greatly increase the risk of aquaplaning.

•  Worn shock absorbers also increase the chances of aquaplaning, even with the best of tyres fitted. It also limits the ability of ABS- systems to work efficiently, so check your car’s shock absorbers and replace them where necessary.

•  Cloudy and rainy weather makes for poor visibility so take extra care when passing other vehicles. Spray from other vehicles reduces visibility considerably.

•  Adjust your speed and following distance to ensure that you can safely stop within the visible area ahead.

•  Your car needs more distance to stop on wet roads. Allow at least four to eight seconds between your car and the car in front of you.

•  Avoid abrupt acceleration, braking and steering movements. Sudden stops and turns may result in skidding.

•  Do not drive through flooded areas unless you are sure that the water is below the bottom of the wheel rims. If you have any doubt, don’t drive through the pool of water; rather find an alternate route.

•  If you have no option but to drive through an area with high water levels, drive slowly in a low gear, holding the steering wheel steady.

•  After driving in heavy rain for some time without applying the brakes or if you drive through standing water, lightly apply the brakes to dry them, especially if the vehicle is fitted with drum brakes.

•  If you have car trouble, turn on your hazard lights and pull completely off the road. If possible, ensure that you have a reflective triangle that can be placed on the road, a sufficient distance behind your car to warn oncoming motorists.

•  Pools of water should also be avoided as far as possible. Pools are often the result of potholes, and water creates a confusing situation where potholes are hidden underneath the water level.