GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - There has been much discussion and concern raised among Graaff-Reinet residents about the dangerous intersection where West Street joins Church Street, between Camdeboo Spar and the Riverside Convenience Centre petrol station.
Intersections have been described as one of the most complex traffic situations that motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and other road users encounter daily, and this particular junction has seen more than its share of accidents and near misses.
There are many hazards for traffic wishing to enter Church Street from West Street.
Two specific incidents in August have been reported to the Advertiser.
On the morning of August 8, a lady driving along West Street stopped at the intersection, wanting to turn right into Church Street. Approaching from the right was a taxi with its indicator on to turn left.
The lady assumed the driver wanted to turn left into West Street, or into one of the two entrances into the Riverside garage.
Thus, as the taxi approached the junction, the lady started turning right onto Church Street. However, it turned out that the taxi only planned to turn left into the taxi stop on the left after the intersection, in front of Spar.
In this instance, a collision was narrowly avoided when both vehicles managed to brake in time.
It is also extremely dangerous for motorists wishing to turn right, across the traffic, on leaving either Spar or the garage.
Other than the problems of crossing a stream of traffic, the entrances to Riverside, in combination with the taxi stop, make it very difficult to safely turn right onto Church Street, or indeed to turn into Church Street towards the town.
In another incident, on August 22, a pedestrian crossing the road at the same intersection was knocked down and run over by a car.
Residents are asking for this junction to be controlled by a three-way stop, for safety.
Traffic volumes have increased in this area considerably since the opening of both Camdeboo Spar and Goldrush, many of whose patrons have been seen to park in the Spar parking area.
Seeing as this have become somewhat of a talking point amongst residents of Graaff-Reinet, rumours have also abounded that a 4-way stop will be erected at the crossing in front of the Robert Sobukwe building - an intersection in Church Street a short distance away from the one at the entrance to West Street.
In a response from the municipality in this regard, Leolynn Smith, Communications Officer, stated that the allegations that a four-way stop would definitely be put at the Robert Sobukwe crossing, by the turn to the Midland Hospital, are false. “It is however planned to refer the two problematic crossings in West Street to the IDP where we will discuss the possibility of studying traffic circles at the two intersections,” concluded Smith.
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