EDITOR – The newly constructed and as yet unfinished pavement along Kingsway down from the gym to the Kingsway-Adams Road junction refers.
This kind of construction project is often seen taking place when the Ethekwini Municipality has a surplus of funds and not an iota of an idea of what to do with it.
More often than not, it’s around the time of their financial year-end when the funds that were allocated to other projects remains unspent and they have to quickly use it to justify that same allotment of money in the next financial year. Or more, if they can get their hands on it.
None of this is problematic, because ratepayers are at least seeing their money spent on improvements.
However, I have a few problems with this specific project and would love to know exactly how much money went into re-constructing a pavement that was perfectly fine in the first place.
Besides this being a particularly irrelevant choice in that the pavement was in good condition to begin with, is there not a back-up list that’s submitted by the councillor for a particular area, of projects that should be considered in just such cases where there is surplus funding available? If so, why was this not consulted, or in the worst case, why not contact the local ward councilor or ward committee for an idea of what needs doing in an area?
A priority list would assess what’s most important and needed as opposed to a thumb-suck assessment that suits the needs of the roads department and its contractors.
Pedestrians have it tough, what with traffic being so fast and furious at the best of times so I’m not begrudging the construction of pavements, just the fact that one could’ve been constructed in a location where it was needed. Especially considering that the SA National Roads Agency has indicated that the Adams Road interchange is overdue for an upgrade, and as such, that section of pavement is doubtless going to be pulled up when that goes ahead.
My biggest gripe though, is that the new and pristine pavement leads down to the brightly painted railway bridge that crosses Kingsway and leads to the Adams Road on- and off-ramps, only for it to end at that very bridge. Due to the topography of the land and the narrow width of the existing bridge, there’s no allowance made for a walkway on the verge of the road that will safely accommodate pedestrians at this busy point. So the pavement unceremoniously ends, leaving pedestrians to fend for themselves and take their lives in their hands as they step out into the road on a narrow bridge which at the best of times can be difficult to navigate due to traffic volume and congestion.
I’m all for progress but it would take a special breed of idiot to think that taking one step forward and two steps back is progress.
THINK IT THROUGH, PEOPLE
