New traffic lights on Main Road, in Lakeside, are causing more, not less, congestion, say motorists and residents alike.
The lights, next to Toad on the Road, are also causing taxi drivers to rat run, say some of the critics.
Wayne Turner, of Muizenberg, created a poll on the Muizenberg Notice Board Facebook group about the issue and 184 people voted that the lights had caused more congestion, while 77 people said the lights had solved congestion and a further six said the lights had made no difference
Felicity Purchase, outgoing mayoral committee member for transport, said that while some members of the public had complained on social media about the lights, she had not had any official complaints.
She said that Boyes Drive was a key route serving the far south, and with the absence of a direct link to the M3, both Main Road and Steenberg Road served that purpose.
“One of the issues was insufficient stacking space for right-turn movements on Main Road southbound as well as the Boyes Drive approach for northbound traffic,” she said.
Due to Main Road traffic flow, the right-turn movements on the Boyes Drive approach queued and blocked the Boyes Drive left turners, to proceed north along Main Road.
“Our consultants analysed the intersection and we went through numerous conceptual design iterations to come up with a suitable solution,” she said.
Ms Purchase said that traffic signals were the most suitable option to manage the intersection. “However, they will break up the continuous free flow along Main Road, leaving the queuing on the north approach to Steenberg Road,” she said.
“The benefit is that signals permit safer access to/from Boyes Drive, specifically for right-turning traffic,” she said.
Contractors were still working on the two Boyes Drive approach lanes to Main Road, she said.
She said there had always been a queue tailing back from the Main Road/Steenberg Road intersection, northbound.
“We will try to improve the timing once all of the work is complete to synchronise Boyes Drive with the Steenberg Road intersection but will retain most of the green time on Main Road,” she said.
