Pretoria - Frustrated by speeding motorists in their area, residents in Lotus Gardens have decided to take matters into their own hands.
They started building speed bumps – and have vowed to continue doing so to protect themselves from speeding cars.
The residents used concrete to build the traffic calming measures to thwart speedsters. Resident Patrick Tau said the speed bumps were necessary after they got tired of waiting for the government to do something about motorists speeding in the area.
“If you look at Lotus Gardens you’ll see that some roads are really steep and motorists drive at high speeds. That is why people end up building these speed bumps. It is all about protecting everybody from accidents.”
A picture of a large speed bump in Extension 5 was posted on social media group, Legal Talk South Africa, by a member who questioned whether it was legal for people to build it, as it could damage cars. The member asked what could be done to get them removed.
City of Tshwane acting chief of staff Jordan Griffiths said the (unofficial) building or construction of anything on municipal roads was unlawful and should never have not been done.
He said: “The construction of such speed bumps is unlawful, if it was built by private residents in their own private capacity because speed humps have to have a particular design … and particular specifications.
“The City is always open to partnerships with communities, businesses and residents.
“We want to assist in the funding or the development of speed humps and the budgeting processes.”
Griffiths said the City allowed for, and encourages residents, to make submissions of applications to have speed humps and other traffic calming measures like traffic circles. An assessment is thereafter conducted before the construction can take place.
“However, it is critically important that the work is done by the City to ensure that it is in line with the standards.
“There is also the question of liability in the sense that if the speed hump is not built by the City and it is not safe and, if anyone were to be injured as a result of it, that person could be prosecuted.”
Pretoria News