On 15 October the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) permanently closed Hoep-Hoep Avenue in Bromhof, increasing traffic on the corner of Tin Road and Suikerbekkie Street substantially.
Roads Agency spokesperson Ntsikelelo Ngubeni said, “JRA erected the wall closing off Hoep-Hoep Avenue because of the increased crime on the corner of Hoep-Hoep Avenue and C.R. Swart Drive. The resident that lives closest to the corner applied for the road closure through the City of Johannesburg as well as the Johannesburg Property Company and it was duly approved. Supporting documents for the approval were also provided by the resident as evidence”.
Ward 101 councillor Ralf Bittkau understands the reasons for the closure but he submitted a request to construct a multi-way intersection to ease access into C.R Swart Drive. He said, “The reason behind the request was to make the roads easier to drive on during peak-hour traffic”.
Bromhof resident Melinda Kriel added, “Traffic comes to a standstill in the mornings between 7am and 8.30am when motorists have to queue to enter C.R. Swart Drive”.
JRA employee Jacobus le Roux explained, “We sent out a team that did traffic counts at the intersection to determine if a multi-way intersection is warranted. We are bound by the South African Traffic Signs Manual regarding the warrants, if the intersection is not warranted then we are not allowed to install a multi-way stop. The official traffic count report will be released by 1 November”.
Bittkau mentioned that he received a call from le Roux to notify him that a traffic count was available for him to inspect. Bittkau reported, “I will be visiting the JRA office to review when the workers counted the traffic”.
Details: Johannesburg Roads Agency 011-298-5000
