Zelda du Preez said traffic in the Bryanston area is already gridlocked. She explained, “The Johannesburg Roads Agency has changed the intersections at Main and Cross roads, blocking all traffic [from turning] right, giving residents, office block, gym users and the school next door no possibility to go to Fourways, the Post Office or Nicolway Shopping Centre.”
She added that all this new traffic, including the additional traffic from the office blocks, will be forced back into the suburb and onto Mount Street. “This street is already challenged with a school on the one side and a church on the other,” she said.
“With the current planning, they are forcing vehicles to do illegal U-turns in the almost impossible Grosvenor Crossing intersection which has seen so many fatal accidents in the last few months. The roads here were not designed to be a downtown CBD.”
Bertha Peters-Scheepers, spokesperson for the roads agency said they had raised concerns over the high number of accidents that had taken place at the intersection of Main and Cross roads in Bryanston.
“Vehicles wanting to turn right from Cross Road into Main Road, travelling north, had to wait long periods for traffic to clear on Main Road in order to turn,” she explained.
“In becoming impatient, some motorists took chances where gaps in traffic occurred, and in so doing caused accidents and in some cases, near fatalities.”
Consequently, Peters-Scheepers further explained that a decision was rather taken to eliminate the right turn movements out of Cross Road into Main Road at the intersection. “The roads agency also considered providing traffic signals at this intersection, however, with its proximity to the William Nicol Drive and Main Road intersection, this was not possible,” she said.
“The only option was to approve partial access, partially allowing a right turn movement from Main Road into Cross Road, or otherwise closing off the intersection entirely.”
However, she also said there is a process that all applications follow and where affected residents have an opportunity to object. The objection period is normally 30 days and is advertised in the local newspapers, and is also displayed onsite where a change of land use occurs. “This is a process [which is] undertaken by the City Town Planning department, not the roads agency,” said Peters-Scheepers.
Ward 102 councillor, David Potter added that residents ought to understand that progress, development and infrastructure are inevitable.
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