Who would have thought that a burst water pipe would lead to so much chaos.
When a water pipe burst on Sunday evening 2 March little did residents of Galena Avenue in Helderkruin know that they would sit with issues ranging from vehicle accidents to traffic and speeding.
Residents explain to the Record that “Since a water pipe burst that evening, we have been left with problems and issues other than just the water dilemma we had originally.
“Although Joburg Water came to sort out the situation, they left tons of mud on the side of the road and dug not just one hole but a number of holes so big that a vehicle easily could fall into it and even pose a huge danger to our children.”
One hole in fact is so big that a woman is unable to gain entrance to her driveway. She has to park her vehicle at a neighbours’ house.
The resident at number 28 says that, “It is not the first time that a water pipe had burst. Its the same story every third month. They come to fix it, but never actually come to replace the pipe. Until they do that, we will have problems continuously.”
The resident at number 33 identified some of the worrying issues.
“Because of the signs placed in the road to warn motorists about the problem, motorists have to slam on their brakes and wait for oncoming traffic when going up or down Galena.
“We’ve already seen two accidents because of this. One motorist who realised that it was too late to brake even had to swerve so severely that eventually he crashed into a brick wall – once again because of the sign and the big tree that obscures the motorists’ view.”
Residents are asking for urgent assistance from the municipality to prevent a tragedy.
Other issues that need attention on the road:
• Unclear/ not visible road marking and no speed limit signage whatsoever
• Impatient motorists speeding to the extent that residents struggle to enter and exit their driveways
• Dug-up areas that are accidents waiting to happen
• Trees blocking motorists’ view
For the third day ow the Record has not received any feedback from Joburg Water regarding the matter.
