Heavies still allowed on Field’s Hill

THE call to ban heavies on Field’s Hill was denied, after hundreds of Highway residents marched earlier this year in disapproval of trucks using the route.

Ward 10 councillor Rick Crouch, Ward 18 councillor Tim Brauteseth and former Ward 18 councillor Warwick Chapman have been fighting to ban trucks using Field’s Hill since 2009. The community stood firmly behind the councillors’ proposal to ban the heavies after an 18-wheeler ploughed through five vehicles at the Field’s Hill Old Main Road off-ramp, killing 24 people.

In the short term proposal report by the MEC of Transport, Safety and Liaison, Willies Mchunu, it stated the existing carrying capacity of trucks will be reduced from 24 tons to 16 tons. The 16-ton trucks will also be restricted from using Fields Hill from 6am to 9am on the eastbound carriageway. He also said that the trucks will be restricted from using the route in both directions from 4pm to 6.30pm.

Heavies are required to stop at the top of Field’s Hill and engage the lowest gear, this compulsory stop will now be electronically monitored. According to Mchunu, the presence of law enforcement on Field’s Hill will also be increased.

His long term proposals included the construction of an extra lane on the eastbound carriageway, the installation of concrete barriers along the entire route and to improve the ramps and intersections.

However, councillor Tim Brauteseth said there have been misleading reports regarding the restriction.

“When I received the news last, that vehicles weighing more than 16 tons were being banned from Fields Hill, I was understandably pleased but also a little wary that the MEC had acquiesced to our request. My reservations were realised when the MEC clarified, through his spokesman, that he had done a lot of talking but had achieved nothing,” said Brauteseth.

The MEC now claims that he was misunderstood. His spokesman released a statement which claims trucks weighing 16 tons and more would still be able to use Field’s Hill.

According to  Crouch, Mchunu’s proposal report for Field’s Hill is a step in the right direction but he believed it does not go far enough.

“What the community and commuters on the M13 want is a total ban on trucks, except for local deliveries. This is a classic case of what we like to call ‘Tombstone Legislation’, this is where we have to wait for a predetermined number of unacceptable deaths before we actually do something about a problem,” said Crouch.