Pretoria - Pretoria West residents feel unsafe living around a deep hole in the ground and a mountain of soil hat’s blocking their walkway and obstructing their vision while driving.
The hole on Charlotte Maxeke Street has been a problem for a while to flat tenants but they fear it more since a man fell inside it last weekend.
They had to wake up from their sleep and run to rescue the man who was screaming for his life and trying to stay afloat because the hole was also filled with water after days of rain.
Yesterday, they said they wanted the hole to be closed as soon as possible because the mound of soil next to it is blocking their walkway.
The soil, which consists of sand and a lot of big rocks, has been blocking one of three lanes on the busy road. Cars have to swerve into other lanes at that point but it is the pedestrians who are most worried.
“Paul Edwards said: “We have been complaining about this pit hole since it was dug up around November last year. We are not kept updated about why it continues to be here and why no progress is made with the work that was supposed to be done.
“Cars are always speeding on Charlotte Maxeke Street and it makes it unsafe for children to walk and go to the shops. They have to peek around the mound of soil and when it looks clear they run in the middle lane to get around the hole and they could be hit by an oncoming car.”
City spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the City sent workers to barricade the hole and he has been treating the matter urgently and will appoint a contractor to do the repairs.