December 3, 2001
Highway toll plan to beat traffic jams
SOME of the busiest highways around Johannesburg could be turned into toll-roads - as part of a national plan to ease traffic congestion and persuade motorists to use public transport or car pools.
Local highways being considered for future toll roads include the Ring Road around the outskirts of the city, the Ben Schoeman Highway linking Johannesburg and Pretoria, the N1 to Pietersburg and the highway east of the Hans Strydom turnoff into Randburg, up to the Mpumalanga border.
The proposals, from the South African National Roads Agency (NRA) and the Gauteng Department of Transport, include increases to the costs of inner city parking, and surcharges on the costs of new cars.
The executive head of the NRA, Nazir Ali, says the toll levies are necessary to build and maintain roads. The first project is the N4 east of Pretoria which will be a toll road from next year.
The strategy has been criticised by motor industry spokesmen, who argue that motorists can't be forced to use Gauteng's inadequate public transport.
The Automobile Association's Gary Ronald says people will not change their driving patterns. "There is no decent public transport system inside our cities or that connects one city to another, and because of this people are forced to use their own transport."
Ronald says many businesses have moved out of the inner city and it would be very expensive to create a transport system that connected the city and suburbs, as well as cities to cities.
According to Ronald, the N1 is the busiest road in the southern hemisphere and the tollgates would lead to unnecessary congestion and traffic snarl-ups, resulting in greater costs.
Ronald also spoke out against a proposal to equip cars with an electronic system that would automatically claim a toll levy from motorists when they crossed another electronic system on toad saying that would be yet another expense for motorists.
Moira Winslow, spokeswoman for Drive Alive, says the strategy has not been clearly thought through and amounts to discrimination against motorists who have no other choice but to make use of their own transport.
Winslow said the plans would have a negative impact on the economy "as long as the government is not prepared to create an affordable and reliable public transport system."
(Source: Rapport, 2 Dec 2001)
Upgrade for Witkoppen's 'curve of death'
A CURVED section of Witkoppen Road in Fourways, where it narrows from double to single lane, has claimed 50 road death victims in the past six years. Now the Gauteng Department of Transport has agreed to upgrade the road in the new year.
The dangerous stretch of road is located on a curve between Cedar Road and Kingfisher Avenue, near the Olivedale Hospital. Most of the accidents have been at night, and despite warning signs, speeding cars have usually been the cause of crashes.
The Gauteng Department of Transport, Roads and Works put out tenders in the last week of November, and expects to appoint a contractor to start work next March. The upgrade, which will widen the road to two lanes and improve the paving, is expected to take 10 months to complete, at a cost of R18-million.
Other areas of Witkoppen Road that have also been targeted for improvements include:
- The bridge over the Klein Jukskei River, with special attention to the transport of storm water.
- Better lighting at some intersections.
- The lowering of the speed limit to 60 km/h.
- More traffic lights, including at the Bloubosrand entrance.
(Source: Rapport, 2 Dec 2001)
Tracking companies score against hijackers
PRIVATE tracking companies which work with police against hijackers, claim increasing success thanks to helicopters, ground agents and extensive radio networks. Tracking companies say they rescue an average of 12 hijacked vehicles in Johannesburg every day.
The principle on which the system works is simple: a tracking device is installed in a vehicle, in turn connected to an operations room of a tracking company. When a hijack alert gets through to the operations room there is immediate action from armed tracking agents, with a helicopter following the hijacked vehicle's signal, and directing agents on the ground.
Agents are not allowed to fire on suspects unless they have been fired upon - which happens quite often. Being in a helicopter is not necessarily safe either. Two years ago a helicopter belonging to a Soweto company was shot down, killing the navigator and injuring the pilot.
The work is dangerous, but it pays as much as four times as much as working as a policeman.
Said one of the agents, who did not wish to be identified: "We don't do it for the money alone. The working conditions are much better, while we are better looked after in general. However, the work is very dangerous. It must be in your blood. Sometimes you don't really know whether you are going to make it home."
(Source: Rapport, 2 Dec 2001)
Jo'burg inventor named as world great
JOHANNESBURG inventor Ken Hall has been named one of the world's great innovators by
Time magazine, for a plastic mini-oven he invented to reduce the risk of fires in squatter camps.
His invention appears in the latest edition of Time as one of the world's 34 best inventions of the year. Hall is one of only two Africans to appear in the magazine - the other is a Nigerian who invented an electricity-free fridge.
Hall was blown away by the nomination. "I was knocked out when I heard," he said.
He designed the oven, called the Cobb, three-and-a-half years ago after realising how often people in squatter camps were being burnt by exploding paraffin stoves.
"Seeing the increasing number of kids with fire burns at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital inspired me to create a safer home environment," said Hall.
The cost of operating the oven is minimal as it uses only six charcoal brickettes to provide heat for more than two hours. Besides being cheap, Hall says the oven is healthier than other stoves because it creates less smoke and is very versatile.
"You can put it on your lap roasting while watching a game between Pirates and Chiefs at the Ellis Park Stadium," he said.
Wayne Decker, a satisfied customer who has already bought two Cobbs, says it is very safe: "You can knock it over accidentally and the pot won't fall because it's deep inside," he says.
Alwyn van Deventer of Pretoria Fire Prevention also believes the oven is a better alternative to other methods of heating. "The Cobb is much safer than paraffin stoves. It's also less poisonous."
(Source: Sunday Times Metro Dec 02)
New police station for Orange Farm
JOHANNESBURG'S southern-most area, the sprawling informal settlement of Orange Farm, has a new R5-million police station, replacing the previous one which had become overcrowded. Nomvula Mokonyane, Gauteng MEC for Safety and Liaison, says the new station will improve police morale, giving all officers their own private offices.
(Source: Sunday Times Metro, 2 Dec 2001)
