IN an urgent bid to stop the scourge of stones and bricks being thrown at vehicles from overhead bridges, Deputy Mayor Fawzia Peer has proposed that safety barriers and closed-circuit cameras be installed over bridges in hotspot areas.
Peer, who also chairs eThekwini Municipality’s Safety and Emergency Committee said this proposal will be one of the urgent items on the committee’s agenda this year.
“We are investigating the possibility of installing safety barriers in the form of steel cages to prevent objects being thrown from overhead bridges. This cannot be done overnight as normal council processes will have to take place and this will also depend on funding,” said Councillor Peer.
The investigation will include identifying the bridges where the safety barriers and cameras will be installed.
Read also: Yet another rock attack on N2
“We are very concerned about the increase in these incidents and wish to reassure the public that the Municipality is acting swiftly to find a lasting solution to this issue. We will be speaking to communities in areas where these incidents have occurred to work with the City and encourage them to report those that are responsible for these criminal acts.”
This includes ensuring increased police visibility after conducting a risk assessment to identify hotspots.
The statement comes after a 26-year-old man was injured in yet another rock throwing incident on the N2. Netcare 911 paramedics responded to the latest incident just after 10.30pm on Saturday evening just past the Tongaat toll bridge.
There has been three incidents, one of which, ended with the tragic deaths of Amina Haffejee, 16, and her brother Abdur Raheem, 7, who died when a boulder struck the windscreen of the car they were travelling in. They were travelling towards KwaDukuza (Stanger) on the N2 between oThongathi and Ballito when the tragedy occurred.
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