Parking causing problems

Eddie Vos, Plattekloof

A serious traffic hazard has arisen at the corner of Suikerbos Crescent and Silwerboom Avenue, in Plattekloof 3, where vehicles parked in provided parking bays in Silwerboom Avenue, close to the corner, are blocking ones view of oncoming traffic from Olienhout Avenue’s side towards Plattekloof 4.

When the intention is to turn right into Silwerboom Avenue from Suikerbos Crescent, and vehicles are parked like that, it is now extremely difficult to see oncoming traffic from the left, as can be seen in the attached photo.

If the vehicle parked in the bay closest to the corner is large, as is the case in the photo, it is even more difficult to see oncoming traffic and vehicles travelling within the 60km/* hour speed limit suddenly appear from behind the parked vehicles, and one is never certain that it is safe to move forward and turn right.

If the oncoming traffic is moving at speeds in excess of the speed limit, as is often the case, one is in a much more dangerous situation when turning right into Silwerboom Avenue.

As can also be seen, the distance from where a vehicle appears from behind the parked vehicle is critically close.

I understand the increased traffic in Silwerboom Avenue is being discussed, but I appeal to the City of Cape Town to urgently create a speed bump on the rise in Silwerboom Avenue to alleviate the danger.

Brett Herron, mayoral committee member for transport and urban development, responds:

The City’s traffic-calming policy aims to protect the most vulnerable road users, where they are found in large numbers on streets in residential areas and near public facilities. So, over the next few years, the City will mostly focus on roads next to and leading to schools. Speeding is an issue throughout the city, so it alone cannot be used to justify a need for traffic-calming measures.

The City uses land-use activity and crash history to objectively gauge risk potential for the many applications for traffic calming we get daily. This is done so that the traffic-calming programme can remain sustainable and responsive to critical safety problems when they arise on residential roads.

Our assessment shows the portion of road between Olienhout and Suikerbos is a typical residential road with no schools or public facilities which may attract significant volumes of pedestrians, and therefore this road does not meet the traffic-calming policy’s requirements.

Regrettably, at this point in time, the Transport and Urban Development Authority will not be able to support traffic-calming measures along this road.

Shoulder sight distance does, however, play an important role in motorist safety. According to the South African Road Traffic Signs Manual, the shoulder sight distance required for a stop condition is approximately 120m for passenger vehicles entering a road with a 60 km/* speed limit. Given that there is no clear demand for parking at this location, it is recommended that a no-parking line be implemented over a distance of approximately 25m to ensure that motorists exiting Suikerbos Crescent have suitable shoulder sight distances to conduct safe right-turning movements into Silwerboom.