Chapter 11 - Sedibeng District Municipality

(b)
Problem Statement
Road traffic quality and safety are compromised by many factors, reflected in a high
accident and casualty rate. The follow ing problems are generally applicable:
• various road links have the problem of faint or obliterated road markings;
• inadequate road signage (w hether through vandalis m, lack of maintenance
after accidents, etc) on various roads;
• a number concerning the traffic signal sets and the maintenance thereof;
• a lack of pedestrian protection measures such as barrier kerbing, pedestrian
walking strips, developed sidew alks and pedestrian crossings and especially
in the tow nship areas;
• a lack of public transport off-street loading baysalong most of the class 2, 3
and 4 roads in tow nship areas;
• a lack of stop or yield signs at various of the unsignalised side roads;
• haw ker structures and other informal housing structures occur as obstacles
within the road reserves of some roadsin the tow nship areas;
• street lighting sometimes not being provided along the low er order roads in the
tow nship areas, although high – mast lighting w as generally available; and
• poor road pavement conditions.
(c)
Strategy
The strategy is to improve the quality of road traffic and safety aspects of the road
environment, and particularly to reduce road traffic fatalities in Sedibeng by 5% year
on year.
The Chief of Police develops an annual Road Safety Strategy in terms of the SAPS
Act Sec 64C(2)g. This plan includes the education and training of community
members. The Road Safety targets are a joint effort betw een the Chief of Police, the
Department of Transport and the RTMC. The Roads and Transport Department
merely provides a support function in terms of traffic regulation and law enforcement
related to traffic matters. These are the legislative competencies of the Chief of
Police.
(d)
Outputs
SDM w ill assist its Local Municipalities to meet their responsibility tow ards the general
public in terms of traffic safety through the phased implementation of a Road Traffic
Safety Management Plan.
SDM w ill assist its Local Municipalities to carry out independent Road Safety Audits
whenever a new road or road section is planned and designed, or w hen rehabilitation
and maintenance w orks are planned and designed, or w hen the road network is
altered. Existing locations that have a high priority from a safety point of view will also
be audited.
Follow ing the audits discussed above, SDM w ill assist its Local Municipalities to
identify hazardous road locations, prioritise these locations for remedial treatments,
and systematically budget for and implement improvement programmes.
SDM w ill assist its Local Municipalities to identify locations where there is a
concentration of schools or high learner pedestrian activities to implement road safety
measures, such as raised intersections or appropriate road signs and/or markings.
SDM DITP, 2008 to 2013 134 31 Aug 2010