Cape Town - Parents of pupils at Sivile Primary School in Khayelitsha can breathe easy after a new set of traffic lights was installed to reduce child pedestrian injuries and deaths on a stretch of road near the school.
The traffic lights, situated between Site C and Kwezi, join the two communities at Japhta Masemola Road.
Daily, about 1 150 children from the school and surrounding areas cross the dangerous road, which is considered to be a “high risk”.
Parent Nosipho Qasana said she was now happy and had peace of mind when her two children make their way to school.
“I walk my children to school every day because the road they cross is very dangerous. These robots will help a great deal.”
Another parent, Busisiwe Ladlokova, said she was pleased because with the traffic lights came education on road safety which was good for the pupils.
“Our children have learnt a lot of traffic rules which will help them.”
Ladlokova added that motorists also needed to learn to obey the rules of the road, because even though there were traffic lights, most of them refused to stop for children to cross.
Principal Zukisa Cwayi said the school has feeder areas like Site C, and Luzuko, which meant many pupils had to cross the road to come to school.
“The traffic lights will help as pupils run across the road because they are scared. Motorists also need to be taught that children cross the road.”
Although residents were worried that the traffic lights might be vandalised or switch off during load shedding, they welcomed it as the elderly would also benefit from it.
During Wednesday’s launch - a joint venture between Childsafe South Africa and the department of Transport and Public Works - the pupils were taken to the traffic lights by traffic officers, where they were taught how and when to cross the road.
Childsafe’s Chiedza Mavengere said a cluster of schools from low income settlements were selected as pilot sites for the first phase of the Safe Schools project.
The other schools were Imbasa Primary in Nyanga, ACJ Phakade Primary in Strand and Isikhokelo Primary in Khayelitsha.
“These pupils faced high risks of road traffic injury,” said Mavengere.
She said the road was a high risk with vehicles travelling at speed, and required improved protection for the children crossing at peak times.
Mavengere added that to further reduce accidents, they had handed the pupils reflecting strips, which should be sewed onto their school tracksuits.
Cape Argus