‘We need speed humps, not circles’
Will speed humps curb speeding on Rinaldo Road? One resident seems to think so.
A LOCAL resident has voiced his dissatisfaction with the traffic circles on Rinaldo Road. This follows an accident last week which saw a truck crash through a wall near the top of the busy road. It’s alleged the truck driver swerved to avoid two cars which had slowed down in front of him. He clipped a car driving up the road, which nudged the truck in the direction of the concrete wall.
The resident, who did not want to be named, said of concern was the upper half of Rinaldo Road, which had no speed calming measures.
“There are three mini traffic circles near the bottom of the road but people still speed around them. I think we need speed humps which in my opinion would be more effective. The circles are a waste of time. I also constantly see people speeding around the steep bend at the top of the road and I am concerned for my neighbours and pedestrians who use the road. It’s extremely dangerous. Last week’s accident was the tipping point for me, if a car or truck had to slow down for a speed hump, that accident would not have happened,” he said.
His sentiments were echoed by Vijen Govender, whose home the truck crashed into.
“This road seriously needs speed humps, there are just so many cars speeding. I’ve written to the councillor telling him about the situation. I’m just glad no one was seriously injured because it could have been worse,” Govender said.
The debate over which speed calming measures were more effective spilled over on to Facebook with another resident, Thuso Ramaloko, voicing his support for speed humps.
“At night Rinaldo (Road) is turned into a drag racing course and I fully support the idea of speed humps especially on the Longwoods Drive and Malacca Road intersections because traffic circles are not helping at all,” Ramaloko said.
Ward councillor, Heinz de Boer, said he begged to differ on the matter, adding that Rinaldo Road would not qualify for speed humps.
“The road is categorised as a Class 4 or feeder road and would not qualify for speed humps. I think its utter nonsense that traffic circles have not contributed to road safety on Rinaldo when in effect they have. They do slow motorists down and city engineers will not put speed humps on a steep gradient (gradients in excess of eight per cent).
“I do agree with residents that more speed calming measures are needed for the upper half of the road. I’ve approached council and I’m pushing for another mini traffic circle to be constructed. However, it took us 21 years to get the three circles constructed, which many residents called for. They are not a waste of time, they have done what they were intended to do which is slow motorists down,” de Boer said.
