The criticism having been made at our public meetings regarding speed control on Kommetjie Rd that “after each tragedy on the road there is a flurry of activity and then nothing happens” and not having seen any signs of promised developments on the road, we approached Sean Glass, Head of Transport Network Development for the City of Cape Town, for a progress report. His response follows:
We have indeed made progress on our undertakings at the second public meeting.
I indicated that our consulting engineers would, in the week after the meeting, begin work on the plan to remark portions of the road and install raised median islands at key locations. I certainly did not have in my mind that the actual remarking work would begin within the following week. We have been presented with the first draft of the re-marking plan to which we required some changes. I expect a revised plan at my project meeting with the engineers tomorrow morning.
Similarly, the design of the traffic signal at Kommetjie & Riverside Roads is at an advanced stage.
One aspect of the work in which we have slipped behind is the installation of the overhead traffic signals at Quarry and 17th Avenues. We have experienced longer than expected delays in obtaining the extended traffic signal poles which as not items that we keep in our stores but must have specially manufactured. I am pushing this issue though.
Our Traffic Services colleagues have also seen a major delay in receiving approval from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions for the erection of the speed and red light violation cameras at Quarry Road and 17th Avenue. The office of the DPP must approve camera installations as they will be key in prosecuting cases made using the cameras. In the past this approval has been issued quite rapidly but in the past few months a number of applications have been severely delayed because of the involvement of the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in a number of high profile and time-consuming court cases. It is the Deputy Director who must sign off the applications. Traffic Services has been advised that the approval is imminent and they are following up frequently on the matter.
Sean Glass
Head : Transport Network Development, City of Cape Town.
Tel: 9 Fax: 1
Viv