While part of the new Cabinet, and dead set to prove themselves on national level, the DA is doing very little to solve the road infrastructure crisis awaiting Capetonians. Never have I experienced so many cars, trucks and taxis on residential roads, never mind the main roads and highways.
Eversdal Road has become a highway, as has Brackenfell Boulevard, Okavango with five tonne trucks becoming more prevalent as they shortcut to get to the N1. Mountainview now carry buses, and Bottelary is a racecourse, almost inaccessible due to the sky high accident rate.
How many must still die on this road before the authorities wake up? Where are the ward councillors, why aren’t they doing anything?
As a by-product of this, lawlessness is now the norm on our roads and nowhere, ever is a traffic cop to be seen. Without effective policing, bad road behaviour continues unabated in the absence of traffic police visibility.
I drive these roads daily, sticking to the speed limit, while most vehicles fly by me at high speeds. There is no deterrent and no consequence. A prime example is the buses ranking illegally on a red line in Brackenfell Boulevard right in front of the Gene Louw traffic college on a daily basis. Really?
I ask myself whether the City of Cape Town is completely oblivious to the high accident/fatality rate on our roads of late, or is it a case of they simply don’t care, don’t have the money or intention to strengthen the traffic police resources as they very well know is lacking, or sadly a case of lack of expertise to successfully manage swift urbanisation.
