J Jones’ letter in last week’s Paarl Post, pointing out the traffic chaos in Main Street, refers.
The root of the problem is the spatial expansion of Paarl, and that includes the new towns of Pearl Valley and Val de Vie. This has been allowed without duly considering the fact that Paarl’s roads are not really up to the task of handling the increasingly chaotic peak-hour traffic.
Fortunately previous visionaries saw the need for the Bergrivier Boulevard. Were it not for that, Main Street would be grid-locked most times of the day.
Sadly, however, drivers (including me) have of late started to avoid the boulevard, due to the road blocks set-up there to harass drivers with lists of their alleged traffic offences, trying to convince them to pay. (A veneer of respectability is maintained by asking drivers to present their driving licences). Consequently, Main Street has to carry even higher traffic volumes.
Unfortunately history has shown that it is impossible to change human behaviour in the short or medium term. It is no use making an appeal to drivers to avoid Main Street in favour of the boulevard. How about prohibiting all vehicles with tare weight above 1 500 kg from using Main Street without a permit?
A huge “thank you” to point-service traffic officials stationed at various traffic stress-points in Main Street during peak hour. They surely alleviate the problem significantly. That is a positive contribution to traffic policing. Setting up impromptu road blocks is counter-productive and a cynical attempt at boosting traffic-fine income. I am often surprised by how many law-enforcement vehicles gather at those road blocks. Never knew Paarl had so many. Where are those vehicles when speeding, skipping of red lights and nocturnal drag racing are the order of the day?
