ANGER OVER SLOW PROGRESS ON ‘DANGEROUS’ ZEBRA CROSSING

AHowick school principal is angry that uMngeni Municipality has made no progress in making a zebra crossing in Main Road safer for pedestrians.

Village Talk reported in July last year that one resident, Otillia Wigley, who is blind and uses a guide dog, Dale, to help her get to work at the Howick Day Clinic and back to her home near the park, feared for her life each time she crossed the busy road.

Wigley said she sometimes had to wait for 10 or 15 minutes to safely cross the busy road because motorists ignored the speed limit and signs near the crossing, which is situated near Thembelihle School.

Parents of pupils at Thembelihle and Heritage House Preschool also shared their concerns, saying that they worried about the safety of children who need to cross the road to get to school.

“During the school term, there is a lollipop lady who helps children and pedestrians cross the road, but in the holidays it’s a problem and no one stops,” said Wigley, whose daughter attends the preschool.

“Even with the lollipop lady, cars don’t stop. Big trucks especially don’t seem to focus and often slam on their breaks at the last minute. It’s very frightening.”

Meanwhile, Karen van Lelyveld,

principal and owner of Heritage House, has been calling for the municipality to make the pedestrian crossing a priority for more than five years.

She said: “I think it is appalling that the mayor, deputy mayor and head of traffic police in Howick have felt no need of urgency to make this crossing safe for the children of Thembelihle School, Oasis Prep school, Heritage House Pre-school, and the general public, both young and old.”

Van Lelyveld said she has begun looking into the cost of road signs and school crossing signs, with the idea of installing them herself.

“Two school children crossing would cost R640, a 40km speed limit, on a bigger, more noticeable sign, would cost about R300,” she added.

“I am going to speak to both Matthew Cocks, principal, and

Dr Carolyn Hancock, chairperson of Thembelihle School, to see how they can contribute towards the cost of these signs. Unfortunately I can't afford a pedestrian robot.”

Van Leyleveld believes that the municipality could move a less used pedestrian robot to the Main Road zebra crossing, which is used by between 80 and 100 people per day during school terms, which is the majority of a year.

“I really hope they wake up and do something before someone is killed,” she added. “It needs to be brought forward as an urgent matter arising.”

Asked for an update on the municipality’s plans to improve safety at the pedestrian crossing, uMngeni Mayor, Councillor Chris Pappas, said it had been included in two reports for implementation.

“Firstly, a speed hump (or vehicle calming) report has been submitted to the infrastructure committee,” he said. “However, some of these [roads] programmes will have to take a back seat due to the need for storm damage repairs.”

uMngeni Municipality revealed last week that the December storms and heavy rains in early January had left uMngeni with a repair bill for R25 million, which would mean reallocating money budgeted for other projects.

The pedestrian crossing has also been included in a report, which is being prepared for the expansion of Main Road, between, Curry’s Post Road and the Karkloof Road, a project which is expected to start in 2024.

Pappas said pedestrian lights and other safety measures would be considered as part of that plan.