Heavy-duty trucks cause massive traffic jam in Jacobs

RESIDENTS from the Bluff, Wentworth, Merebank, Clairwood and surrounding communities are encouraged to submit their reports of trucks that are in violation of the by-laws.

This is a call by SDCEA’s environmental project officer, Shanice Firmin who was shocked to see the corner of Paisley Road and Hutchison Street in Jacobs completely closed off by heavy-duty trucks on Thursday morning, 1 July.

“We noticed a high volume of trucks that were blocking the roads. No car could enter or exit because they were parked in the middle of the road. We lodged complaints to Metro Police and no one came to address the issue. This case is a result of poor management where warehouse owners are not managing their trucks coming into the area and therefore leading to a long waiting line out on the roads. Drivers are left to their own devices with no law enforcement to deal with the problem.

“This frequent congestion has become severe and very much uncontrolled. We don’t know what the exact cause of the issue is. Whether it’s with the warehouses or the procedure that the trucks use when doing pick-ups and drop-offs of their products and cargo. Some drivers claim that it is the GPS that leads them into roads where they shouldn’t be. But what is not acceptable, is trucks utilising residential roads and pavements for parking. This is a direct violation of the city’s by-laws. Trucks park over drains and pavements on a daily. This has a direct impact on the damage to our infrastructure. We can never have well-maintained roads and areas if we allow rucks to keep doing this every day. There is no law enforcement on site. The severity of what is going on here is directly spilling over into our residential areas and it’s becoming so uncontrolled that this is how accidents take place and how people’s lives are put at risk,” said Firmin.

In efforts to address the problem, the organisation recently developed a simple Google form for residents to fill out in the event of experiencing any trucking-related violation on the road. “We launched our form which is a means of getting the community more empowered and to speak out the trucking problems prevalent in their areas as well as by-law violations. We are in the infancy of this initiative and therefore haven’t seen the impact of it yet. We are doing everything in our power to get it out there. There has been a huge cry out from affected communities. We need people to be active and use it.

“When residents respond using the Google form their information will be captured immediately. The statistics collated by the form will aid us to engage further with Metro Police and other role players to resolve the issues residents are experiencing with trucks.”

To access the form, click here. For more information, call or send a WhatsApp to Shanice Firmin on 069-118-4227 or email truckingcampaign21@gmail.com. You can also report incidents to Metro Police on their complaints line on 031-361-0000.

Comment from Metro Police was not available by the time of going to print.