Aileen Turner, Fish Hoek
I’m concerned about the unsafe pedestrian crossing in Main Road that is an accident and tragedy waiting to happen. On many occasions, citizens have expressed their anger and frustration on The Fish Hoek Facebook group at being on the crossing and cars have not stopped. I feel this is because a lot of traffic users do not even know the crossing is there and by the time they are on it, it’s too late. We need to have flashing amber warning lights on either side and a raised surface on the crossing so that motorists cannot ignore the instruction to stop.
Fish Hoek is home to many elderly and frail folk who physically cannot make a quick crossing. They rely on the diligence of motorists to stop .
I feel the roads and traffic department is letting these citizens down by not taking every available step to ensure their safety.
Mayoral committee member for transport, Felicity Purchase responds:
The City received a request for a pedestrian crossing mostly because the senior citizens of the area were battling to randomly cross the road. The locality for the requested crossing is in the immediate proximity to The Arcade, pharmacy and banks and is on a pedestrian desire line. We believed the request was reasonable with the location being midway, (approximately 100 metres each way) between a signalised pedestrian crossing and a signalised intersection. The mid-block crossing was constructed with kerbed bump outs, which accommodate universal access, which positions the signage and pedestrian forward, providing better visibility and a shorter crossing distance.
At the time, the pedestrian crossing did not meet the warrants for signalisation, so the City proceeded to implement what was possible. The pedestrian crossing provides at least one accessible and visible crossing point, as opposed to pedestrians crossing the road randomly, without the option of a facility.
Main Road, Fish Hoek is narrow and a busy road , where motorists automatically should drive with caution at all times. Unfortunately, some motorists are blatantly ignorant and simply do not stop for pedestrian crossings, even the signalised pedestrian crossings are ignored at times. The City will review the option of signalising the pedestrian crossing, but our list of requests is significantly long and is prioritised relative to other demanding locations and availability of budget. We ask that residents keep in mind that existing signalised pedestrian facilities already exist in reasonably close proximity.