He said the intersection at Pretoria Main Road and Woodmead Drive, between Kelvin and Buccleuch, has become a serious accident zone. “On 8 and 9 February, there were two accidents at that intersection. There have been several other accidents over the past six months. In August last year there was a fatal accident,” he explained.
McMurray is most concerned that the armcove barriers, that are supposed to act as a safety barrier for motorists, are in ruins. He said, “After the fatal accident in August last year, the armcove barrier was obliterated and that barrier was never replaced or repaired.” He added that on 9 February a driver went through the spot where the armcove barrier was meant to be. “There is a 15m drop into the veld on the other side of the damaged armcove barriers. It is also poorly illuminated at night and it is badly potholed,” he added.
Ward 32 councillor Darren Bergman said speed has been the main issue at the intersection. “Blaming [the city] council for a reckless accident is like blaming [the city] council for hail damage. We need to acknowledge that to cause damage to the barriers, one has to have been driving beyond an acceptable speed limit,” he said. Bergman added that McMurray is correct in saying that this area is plagued by poor lighting, poor signage and lack of barriers – albeit that all accidents that he was aware of have taken place between dawn and early morning.
Bertha Peters-Scheepers of the Johannesburg Roads Agency said, “The comments made by the resident regarding the conditions in the specific sections is indeed concerning. The Pretoria Main Road is a provincial road and thus is not in the roads agency’s jurisdiction. The damaged guardrails will be maintained by Gauteng province, however, due to the severity of the situation, the roads agency will erect a T-junction chevron on that road.”
Bergman added, “We as public representatives have the responsibility of fighting to ensure that all of this happens.”
