Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality will be shelling out R3.5m on 109 speed humps across all wards of the Metro in an effort to make the city's roads safer.
The Metro said that since the beginning of the current financial year, the Roads and Transport Directorate had spent R3m of that budget on the construction of these speed bumps and raised pedestrian crossings on 58 streets across all wards in the Metro.
“The purpose of these speed humps is to improve the experience of road users in the Metro and ensure safer roads for cyclists and pedestrians. More importantly, the Municipality seeks to create a safer environment for children, particularly in residential areas,” the Metro said in a statement on Friday.
It said that “before the implementation of any traffic calming measures, the Municipality took into account requests received from residents and sought guidance from Ward Councillors.”
“Should residents identify a need for traffic calming measures in their area of residence, they should consult their neighbours in order to reach consensus and write to the NMBM Executive Director of Infrastructure and Engineering,” the Municipality said.
“Once the Municipality receives the request, it will check if at least more than 50% of the affected residents are in support of the petition. The Municipality will then assess the road or area before implementation of any traffic calming or control measures, to ensure that the proposed request is in line with the rules and regulations that guide road safety.”
“It should be noted that the municipality will prioritise requests based on whether they are firstly, life threatening, property threatening or if they just cause an inconvenience to residents.”
“Traffic calming measures are generally determined by the Municipality's Traffic Calming Policy, but in most cases they take the form of speed humps or raised pedestrian crossings.”
“In the coming financial year, with a decreased R1 000 000 million budget allocated for all wards in the Metro, Councillor Rano Kayser, the portfolio Chairperson of Roads and Infrastructure, intends to place stronger focus on the Northern Areas and townships,” said Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.
