Slovo’s dangerous intersection to be dealt with, says councillor

The Ward 4 councillor says that the intersection at Freedom Way and Omuramba Road is a priority for the City of Cape Town as it cannot be left unchecked any longer.

For the better half since 2020, the traffic lights at the intersection at these roads have caused nothing but headaches for drivers, pedestrians and local government. Residents say that they are just waiting for a massive car pile-up one day if this issue does not get fixed soon.

They say that there have been plenty of accidents over the years where cars drive into each other but what concerns them the most are children being injured there too.

According to Noxolo Mayeki, who is a community leader and member of the Joe Slovo Crisis Committee, there have been a few incidents where schoolchildren were knocked over.

“A group of kids were crossing the road, I think in 2021, coming from school and two were knocked over at that intersection. It is a very dangerous area because nothing works there. Not even the MyCiTi traffic lights.

“Our children and other residents have to navigate through those robots not knowing that maybe that is their day to be hit by a car, taxi or even a truck,” she said.

There are six sets of traffic lights at that busy intersection: two for the now discontinued MyCiTi route going both directions on Omuramba; and for the regular cars on the roads, there are two going both directions on Omuramba and another two going both directions along Freedom Way. All of those lights are faulty.

Residents say randomly they might see one of those robots on at any given time but hours later, it’s off again.

There are also complaints about taxis parked on all the pavements on both roads, leaving people with no choice but to walk on the roads, which adds to the danger element.

Ms Mayeki said there have been plans made by the City to put barricades on the pavements to stop the taxis from parking there and people can walk a little safer.

Andile Siyo, another Joe Slovo resident, said children were also not safe at another intersection on the corners of Democracy Way and Freedom Way.

“The children who go to Marconi Beam Primary School are so young. It’s dangerous enough for us grown people having to avoid being knocked over by these speeding cars, I know it’s very scary for 6, 7 and 8-year-olds. A few years ago, we had a traffic officer who was stationed there who would help the kids cross. Whatever happened to that? I’m telling you, the problem is just going to get worse here in our community,” he said.

According to the area’s ward councillor, Anthony Benadie, the problem at the traffic intersection in Omuramba Road and Freedom Way has occurred many times during his tenure as councillor. He said even when the robots get fixed, a few days later there is another issue.

“The electrical cables are being vandalised and stolen. Sometimes the vagrants in the area will pry open an electricity box, take out the contents and just leave the box bare. They will even erect their shelters around electricity boxes and just vandalise the place.

“It’s a difficult situation because even when the problem is fixed and power gets restored so many times, we keep having to come back to start from scratch,” he said.

Mr Benadie said the entire intersection, including the MyCiTi cables, has been stolen or vandalised.

“I’ve approached the City about perhaps removing the MyCiTi station and track so that Omuramba can have two lanes on either side instead of one. However, I’ve been told that a feasibility study was recently conducted and plans are under way to rebuild that MyCiTi station.

“We have seen that there is a great need for transport and MyCiTi especially in the area. These issues are currently receiving attention,” said Mr Benadie.

Tabletalk sent follow-up questions to the City’s urban mobility directorate but did not receive their response in time for publication. We will publish their response when we receive it.