With each update the community buckles down for the long haul.
Hoping for the best but holding realistic expectations, community members hung on the words of road custodians. The Gauteng Provincial Department of Roads and Transport (GPDRT) led by MEC for Roads and Transport, Kedibone Diale-Thlabela, were joined by Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) on January 24 as they presented an update on their Traffic Management Plan (TMP) for the Hendrik Potgieter Road closure.
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Details of the reconstruction project trickling in periodically
Member of the Provincial Legislature, Parks Tau, opened the meeting explaining the purpose was to engage with stakeholders who were effected by closure as the department was being inundated with complaints of congestion and reduced mobility. Admitting the economic importance of the road, MEC Diale-Thabela was to the point in stating that, based on the briefing session prior to the public meeting, the timeframe would now be 10 months from the time of reconstruction commencing.
Engineers took the floor and explained their theoretical assessments and designs would done by mid February with the project able to begin in March at the earliest. First and foremost, the area under the road that housed the water course tunnel needs to be scrapped clear and the flow of water naturalised before the full scope of the practical work will be known.
Roads authorities say plans to alleviate traffic will be regularly reassessed
The reconstruction time frame will be a splinter in the minds of residents but the TMP is a joint GPDRT and JRA effort to alleviate the daily stresses of commuting. When formulating their approach, the key planning components were aimed at minimising delays, creating a safe environment for commuters, allowing for easy access for repair crews and the management of large trucks using the detour.
Statistics available to the entities showed that Hendrik Potgieter Road has an average daily usage of roughly 50 000 vehicles, a little over 1 300 of those daily numbers attributed to trucks. To help keep trucks away from the areas around the detour, trucks over five tonnes will not be allowed to head in the direction of the hole from either Christiaan de Wet Road or the R58 and N14 intersection near Cradlestone Mall.
Trucks under five tonnes will have unrestricted access to the area as it was explained these vehicle service the economic network throughout northern Roodepoort as well as residents in their homes. Ensuring the drivers of the trucks obey the restrictions, all entities stressed that the responsibility of enforcing the temporary diversions sat with municipal and provincial traffic authorities.
Community ask to be accurately and frequently informed of progress
Following the presentation, the floor was opened for questions. Apart from the trucks and the timeline, the question of permanent law enforcement monitoring was raised but it was stated that resources were too thin to have officers deployed throughout the day. A member of the taxi industry raised the possibility of removing the traffic circles at the residential developments on Shearwater Road and Sterretjie Street but JRA explained that multi-way stops were more time consuming for motorists than traffic circles.
Van Dalen Road South resident, Ruth Mutasa, noted the increase in speed along her street when the traffic was not at a standstill. Along with other measures to protect the road infrastructure, Ruth asked for traffic calming measures on her street. Regarding the road reconstruction, she also inquired as to why work could not be done with revolving shifts 24 hours a day, a suggestion that did not receive a definitive answer.
Authorities assured the community that they were aware of the widespread inconvenience to residents as well as the disruption of taxi routes which were affecting businesses, employees and even school learners as far away as Hoërskool Die Adelaar and Princess High School. Concluding, Esther Schmidt from JRA’s Traffic Engineering and Analysis department added that the TMP was not rigid and could be adjust should new driver behaviours or circumstances come to light.
Provincial governance urge community to work together to overcome challenges
MEC Diale-Thlabela stated in her closing remarks that her teams will work with what she considered ‘good suggestions’ from the community but urged every one to ‘individually readjust’ their lives. The MEC said she regretted that the community had been placed in this situation and was forthright in saying, “Some sacrifices have to be made and some of those sacrifices must be made by this community.”
MEC Diale-Thlabla assured that updates regarding the progress of the project will be frequent and communicated to key stakeholders through similar participation sessions. The MEC stated that her department was taking this seriously as it was not only a community issue but had economic and social implications province wide.
