BUDGETARY constraints and resources are the main contributors to the current backlog in road markings in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro.
This comes as faded road markings have increased in the past year, with accidents allegedly reported due to this growing danger.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) said that one of the reasons the road markings were fading so rapidly was due to the low quality of the paint used when they were last painted.
Municipal spokesperson, Kupido Baron, said that a memorandum is currently in the office of the city manager in order for a tender to be finalised to purchase the paint.
“In addition, our supply chain management (stores) reneged on their responsibility to place a tender in time for paint,” Baron said. This despite the 3 000km expansion of road network in Nelson Mandela Bay, which means that 6 000km of line markings must be painted.
However, the amount the municipality spent on road markings for this financial year is unclear, as the expenditure of different departments must be considered, Baron said. According to Ward 9 Councillor, Heinrich Muller, the lack of road markings continues to have major concerns for motorists in the Nelson Mandela Bay.
“The failure to maintain road markings may be a contributory factor to the number of fatal and serious accidents on the metro’s roads.
“The lack of visible road markings, especially in my ward, forces motorists to use their own judgement, which can be fatal.
“Road markings are used on paved roadways to provide guidance and information to drivers and pedestrians; however, this is not the case in my ward.
“Even various streets at schools lack road markings, which is unsafe for children,” Muller said.
Warren Prins, director of traffic and licensing in the metro, said that the lack of road markings made it difficult to prosecute offenders.
“We also share the frustration and we do forward it to our directorate,” Prins said.
Asked about the issue with road signs that have not been attended to in the metro, Baron said that the municipality currently only had two teams to address road sign issues. Baron added, “We hope to increase the number of teams when the manpower budget is available.”
