City roadworks in the vicinity of the Salt River Circle and Salt River Road have made traffic congestion there worse, say residents.
Questions were raised about the changes during a site inspection by residents’ groups and City officials on Thursday June 20.
The changes include losing one of the two lanes in the traffic circle to widen its paved truck apron and running a 30-metre-long pavement at the bottom of Salt River Road to the circle.
The impact of the changes had led to traffic jams now extending to Roodebloem Road because of the slower traffic flow through the narrowed circle, said Sedick Soeker, the chairman of the Salt River Woodstock Walmer Steering Committee, which organised the site inspection.
“All the roads have been made narrow, which leads to traffic congestion. There is a large contingent of trucks from a commercial company that are using those roads that are detrimental towards local businesses,” he said.
Mayoral committee member for urban mobility Rob Quintas said the work was part of the City’s regular road maintenance schedule.
“The road width around the circle was made wider by two metres through the implementation of the apron to better accommodate the turning movement of heavy vehicles using the circle,” he said.
The proposed change had been publicised on the City’s online platforms and in media releases, he said.
“It is important to state that this project is not meant to address traffic congestion, nor intended to resolve any associated issues, among which the request to make the barrier kerbs in the circle higher and to have the apron removed.”
Salt River Residents’ Association chairperson Warda Rahim said any trucks using the circle would see the apron and make their turns even wider.
“So why even have it there, it should have been gone or made smaller,” she said.
Changing the circle from a double lane to a single lane slowed down traffic, she said.
Salt River resident Shariefa Job said the City should have met with residents to discuss the changes.
“Had they called a public participation meeting, they would have heard suggestions of the community as this matter doesn’t only affect the immediate communities but affects other communities as the circle leads to Voortrekker Road and near the N1 highway,” she said.
Another resident, Imam Rashied Omar, added: “We needed better consultation by the City and ward councillor.”
Ward 57 councillor Yusuf Mohamed said he had no concerns regarding changes made to Salt River Circle. “The changes being made are to alleviate congestion at the circle,” he said.
Mr Quintas said the work on the Salt River Circle area started towards the end of March and should be completed by the end of this week.
