Non-functioning traffic lights on the interchange of Dumisani Makhaye Road and Inanda, going into KwaMashu and Newlands East, are a disaster waiting to happen. The traffic lights, which have been out for almost two weeks, are a danger to pedestrians crossing the intersection as well as motorists, especially in the early morning peak hours when the road is busy as learners go to school and motorists try to beat the morning rush to work.
Zandile Dlamini, a parent who walks her kids to school in the morning, said the non-functioning traffic lights instil fear in parents. “Every morning when my children go to school, I have to walk them up to the intersection to ensure that they cross safely. It has become a norm, even though sometimes I also fear crossing as the cars are rushing, leaving little time for one to cross to the Malandela Station for the GoDurban Bus. After crossing that section, we have to cross again into John Dory and thereafter I leave the kids to walk on the side of the road with other learners till they get to school,” said Dlamini.
She said the worry starts in the afternoon. “In the afternoon I am at work and I can’t fetch them or just go to help them cross as I work in uMhlanga. Every time the clock strikes 2pm I say a silent prayer for my kids to get home safely,” the mother said. Other parents, who also go through the same routine, said that if fixing the traffic lights is a problem, the solution would be for a Metro official to be placed at the intersection to control traffic and allow the learners to cross without having to duck cars and taxis.
Gugu Sithole, another parent living in Siyanda, said: “A pedestrian bridge needs to be constructed above the intersection so that people can cross safely. We have seen many accidents on that intersection, even when the traffic lights are working as motorists get confused by the GoDurban bus light which goes on even though there is no bus on that route as yet. We hope that the municipality comes up with a solution soon. We do not want to see another child being knocked,” said Sithole. In 2019, three female learners, aged between 13 and 14, were killed on the same road while another was left in a critical condition in hospital. The three girls were knocked and dragged for a short distance by a taxi on the morning of 6 March.
Commenting on that accident, ALS Paramedics Spokesperson, Garrith Jamieson, said that events leading to the accident were not clear, however, witnesses at the scene said the taxi was en route to Pinetown when it struck the girls, spreading their bodies across the three lanes of Dumisani Makhaye highway with the driver fleeing the scene. In July same year, a 20-year-old woman was also run over and killed while crossing the same highway. Ward 11 Councillor, Graeme Clarivette, and eThekwini Municipality were contacted for comment, however, no response was received at the time of going to print.
