Makeshift community speed humps : IMC-SA

At 11:55pm (21 Nov) a car crashed into the yards of Clinton Snyders and
neighbour Eugene Conway, in Tarentaal Road, Eastwood. This is the third
time since 2000. Fortunately, no one was injured. After the 2nd incident
in 2002, both Clinton and Eugene decided to erect a wall. However, the
wall proved brittle against the speed of the car, luckily Clinton had an
old truck parked in front of his home, the old truck whose
unroadworthiness saw it standing there being fixed, was the buffer…a
buffer which prevented the car from ploughing into the bedroom, where
Clinton’s 3 daughters were sleeping.

Clinton and Eugenes’ homes are on the corner of a notorious bend. Despite
efforts, by community members, to get the traffic cops, police, KZN
department of transport, road safety, National Department of Transport
etc. etc. to implement speed humps in Tarentaal Road and other hotspots in
Eastwood, nothing has yet been done. So, on Saturday morning (22nd Nov)
the community decided to put in their own speed humps. This was done with
speed: gravel, sand and all manner of dirt was promptly placed along the
road… rolled and humped. Significantly, the placement of speed humps was
led by Clinton and Eugene. Immediately, traffic slowed down. There was
even a comical community ‘traffic cop’ dressed in bright yellow, motioning
cars on and community members, on the sidewalk, jeered at passing cars to
slow down and go gently over their speed hump. Simultaneously, community
members shared their own experiences of car and pedestrian accidents and
their own tragedies of loss.

Then…the traffic cops arrived. After a fair amount of confrontation and
my being threatened to be locked up for photographing a traffic cop
[civilians are not apparently allowed to photograph a man in uniform], the
community demanded that the speed hump was their only means to sleep
safely in their beds without fearing their walls being bashed in from
speeding drivers. The traffic cops insisted that there were channels that
communities should go through and that ‘(we) can’t just go about putting
in speed humps, what if it causes an accident?’ Perhaps the irony was lost
on these smartly dressed men. Fred Wagner then drew his ace and said that
the community had gone through all the correct channels, and to date had
received no response. He then produced a memorandum that was issued to
Jeff Radebe on the 9th November. The memorandum gave the Ministry 7
working days to respond to Eastwood’s calls to implement the necessary
road safety interventions. There time was up Friday. After much frantic
radioing between traffic cops and superiors, which included outbursts from
superior to traffic cop ‘in charge’ which was heard as such: ‘he (Fred
Wagner) is not in charge, you are…you are in charge of the situation’ and
‘he (Fred) can not tell me what to do, he is not my boss.’ The traffic
cops were heckled from the growing crowd who shouted that no more of their
kids were going to die because no one cared. The traffic cops warned that
we were now in contravention with the law because more than 15 people had
gathered (much more) and that it constituted an illegal gathering. I
wanted to ask if they too might start to infringe on this law because
their numbers too were expanding.

The SAPS arrived. Their directive was clear, either remove the makeshift
speed hump or get arrested. Some in the crowd mocked the cops, saying
that they were going to arrest us for putting dirt in the road, dirt that
might just stop another loved one from being killed. It seemed however,
that the cops were serious. We stalled the process for a community
decision as to what should be done (and the arrival of a barrage of
journalists) by telling the cops that they should start arresting us.
During this time the traffic cops and police were forced to listen to the
community and many of them started to admit that it was indeed necessary
for more traffic humps to be implemented. We were once again warned to
remove the speed hump or be arrested. It was decided, by the community
gathered, that we would remove the speed hump on condition that an urgent
meeting (with all the relative authorities) be held on Monday. The SAPS
‘man in charge’ asked that some representatives meet with him (et al) and
that he (personally) would motivate for speed humps in the hot spots.
Apparently, the issue was no longer a traffic concern but a civil safety
issue and the SAPS were then able to take the issue forward (to the city
engineers, then council…then the Easter Bunny). We wait to see what
transpires on Monday, however, it is clear that all gathered were aware
that a makeshift speed hump, easily made and quickly constructed, could
well be the answer to an absence of patience and a saviour of lives.

Before the community began spading up the hump and carting it off as dirt,
Fred told the traffic cops that now that they were here, they should at
least make themselves useful and stop the traffic on either side of the
hump so that no-one gets injured in its removal. After a flurry of
exasperation by the traffic cops, the men darned their yellow jackets and
sombrely controlled the traffic. I took up my camera (once again) and
asked the traffic cops to move out the way, so that I could photograph the
humps’ removal without being locked up. This time they laughed and then
proceeded to book two passing by unsuspecting unlicensed drivers…at least
their time on Tarentaal road bore some fruit.

And what of Clinton and Eugene? Although an immediate response was that
they would be building a stronger wall, I wouldn’t be surprised if
another hump mysteriously appears on their bend as well as a surge of
makeshift community speed humps appearing on all the dangerous bends in
Eastwood.

So, did we win? No. Was it a significant and symbolic victory?
Absolutely. The community involved recognised that (1) they can take
proactive measures that bring immediate results, (2) those in authority
(and the men on the other side of the radio) are prepared to squash
community initiatives whilst being aware that they, themselves, present no
viable alternatives, and (3) [considering 2] alternatives lie in community
members taking up their own spades [in this case], listening to their own
voices and wrestling back their own power. Powerful indeed.

[Eastwood Community Forum (033) 390 3868]

________________________________________
Sunday Tribune
Residents ready to rumble over speeding
November 20, 2005

By Niyanta Singh

Armed with picks and shovels, a Pietermaritzburg community defied threats
of arrest and constructed makeshift speed humps on a road after a series
of accidents.

Angry residents took to the streets of Eastwood yesterday to protest
against the municipality's perceived failure to do something about
speeding.

The Eastwood Community Forum says 15 people have died and more than 50
people have been seriously injured in accidents in the area. Of the 50
injured, 30 have been left disabled.

On Friday night, three children, sleeping in their home on Tarentaal Road,
narrowly escaped injury when a car crashed into a wall.

The owner of the house in Tarentaal Road, policeman Clinton Synders, said,
"Had it not been for my bakkie, which was parked in front of the house,
the car would have crashed into the house. We are fed up now."

Four years ago another vehicle crashed into Synder's home. In 2000 there
was a similar incident.

On November 9, the Eastwood Community Forum petitioned national Transport
Minister Jeff Radebe to intervene and erect speed humps on the road.

They asked that he lower the speed limit to 40km/h; erect speed humps on
the main road; install robots at the intersection of Starling and
Bishopstowe roads; and install rumble strips at the intersection of
Bishopstowe Road and Maryvale Drift.

The community said in the memorandum that despite requests to local
councillor Wally Adams, he had refused to have the humps erected, saying
they would damage his car. Adams was not available for comment.

When police arrived in Eastwood yesterday, threatening to arrest the crowd
if they did not remove the humps, they refused to do so until a meeting
was set up with the authorities. They then removed the speed humps.

The meeting will take place at the Mountainrise Police Station tomorrow.

The Msunduzi Municipality Traffic Department's Snr Supt Anthony Brinklow
said communities had to follow protocol.

He said the Road Transport Department dealt with speed humps and was
working on a list of 200 speed humps that were a priority.

"Our priority is to erect speed humps near schools," he said.
"We can't just put up speed humps because a community thinks it is gong to
solve their problems."

http://www.sundaytribune.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=160&fArticleId=3002266