The incorrectly placed signboard on the R74 was promptly removed soon after an article appeared in last week’s Estcourt News. A resident called in about the ‘misleading’ direction signboard at the intersection of Rensburgdrift and Papkuilsfontein. The signboard stated that the distance to Estcourt Hospital was 11km when it is actually under 6km.
READ MORE HERE: Deceptive direction signboard displayed on the R74
After the article appeared, an Estcourt businessman (who identified himself as the “signboard installer”) admitted that it was incorrectly placed and that it had been brought to his attention.
“This board should have been placed on the old road, coming from Mooi River. The poles have not been concreted yet and I will be removing it,” he said.
In a scathing letter sent by the businessman, in which he uses the pseudonym ‘Annoyed Resident’, the resident who reported the incorrectly-placed signboard is accused of approaching the newspaper with “nonsense to publish”.
“Coming from the Rensburgdrift turn-off, you are clearly not a local resident and were most likely coming from Timbuktu. But you of course did get to Estcourt Hospital and had your treatment.
“It is clear that you have survived from whatever ailment you had and now have a lot of time on your hands… You may want to consider engaging in gainful employment or returning to Timbuktu,” reads the letter. In an effort to explain the incorrect placement of the signboard, the “installer” says: “If you had been vigilant enough, you would have noticed that the poles supporting the signboard had not been concreted. On that particular day (no date specified), the installation team had to position several signboards at various locations over a long distance. After this step, the installer personally checks that the correct signboard is at the correct spot and directs the final erection.”
This signboard has since been removed and this was also noted with satisfaction by another local resident who called the Estcourt News on Monday.
“My concern is that so many people have already been misdirected by this signboard. Surely, when a signboard is placed, it has to go through a system of checking before it is placed,” commented the resident, who asked not to be named.
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