An elderly man from Kariega who regularly uses the pedestrian crossing at the Union Avenue and Grey Street traffic lights to go to the new shopping centre, had twice experienced near death situations because of motorists speeding and jumping red traffic lights.
“If it was not for an unknown woman who screamed and pulled me back, I would have been knocked over by the car and most probably dead. She saved my life, but herself nearly had a heart- attack from shock. I felt so sorry for her,” said Leon Davis, a resident from the nearby Aandmymering old age home’s flatlets.
“It is crazy to see how motorists, especially those coming into town, are speeding and then jumping the red traffic lights at this crossing. For an elderly person it is challenging as a pedestrian. You must cross six lanes in total. It also seems that the green pedestrian crossing lights do not stay on long enough.”
Warren Prins, Director: Traffic and Licensing in Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole, said Senior Superintendent Ryland Williams is responsible for the Kariega area and is aware of the situation in Union Road, which is a major arterial road.
“During the planning phase of these traffic lights, we did raise concerns, but they were not considered. The engineers who were involved together with the developers never consulted my office,” said Prins.
“The issue with the senior citizens crossing the road and fearing for their lives is noted; hence the old age home also has a responsibility to assist them getting safely to the mall. We will contact the old age home to sensitise them on road safety matters.
“Something that I want to stress is that when developments are done, the Traffic Department is not involved, and we have to fight to be part of the input. If we are left out, all the problems and issues get diverted to the Traffic Department and which gets the blame for everything that is going wrong. We have already identified more problems that are going to be an issue,” said Prins.
Amanda Croucamp, Aandmymering old age home manager, said they are aware of the dangers of this Union Avenue pedestrian crossing and have made arrangements accordingly.
“Therefore, each Tuesday morning we offer the service of our minibus to take and return our residents safely to and from the shopping mall. We know their limitations due to old age and encourage them rather to make use of this shuttle service,” said Croucamp.
Davis said apart from the speeding and red traffic light jumping, the pedestrian crossing road markings are also very dull. He said traffic control measures like speed humps might be a good idea and he really hopes that authorities will investigate this matter before a fatal accident happens at this busy crossing.
According to Prins, the traffic fine for a motorist crossing a red traffic light is R2 000.
“With regard to a motorist ignoring a red traffic light and resultant knocking down of a pedestrian, a case will be opened and be investigated by the police. If the pedestrian is fatally injured, a culpable homicide case will be registered and investigated,” said Prins.
