Speed and you pay: any driver who’s run the gauntlet of cops and cameras, westward on the N2 from the Storms River bridge knows that’s the deal. Residents of Boknes, Klipfontein, Marselle, Bushmans River, Kenton-on-Sea, Ekuphumleni, Merryhill and the properties north-west of it along the R343 would be much safer if drivers had exactly the same attitude towards the section of the R72 linking the pockets that make up their community.
That’s the conviction that’s driving businesswoman and Kenton resident Shona Bell, along with dozens of community activists and volunteers, to push for a basket of measures to slow traffic on that 10- kilometre stretch. Fifteen-year-old Jade Prinsloo was walking across the Kariega bridge on New Year’s Day when she was hit by a car. She died on the scene. She and her friends had been on their way to go swimming. With her family’s consent, the initiative was named Jade’s Journey.
“We know Jade wasn’t the first or the last to die on that road,” Bell said. “But so many people in the community knew her, so it seemed appropriate.”
In a nutshell, Bell says, they aim to have the speed limit reduced in that section; introduce traffic-calming furniture; and install two cameras.
The R72 is managed by the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) Earlier bids to slow traffic on the section that passes Kenton were unsuccessful. Rumble strips would affect houses next to the river; a traffic circle wasn’t an option because of the road’s status; a traffic averaging camera wasn’t feasible because there are so many turnoffs in the 10km stretch;
That is, until the construction of the Engen garage and adjacent shopping centre. With that came a reconfiguration of that section of the R72: the road was widened and planning permission was obtained for new road furniture to facilitate vehicles leaving and re-entering the R72. That changed everything.
“We knew Sanral is redoing the East London road and that they will probably be working on the section between Port Alfred and Alexandria in 2025. And we asked, how do we become a voice in this project?” Bell said.
At the group’s request, the provincial traffic department came to Kenton to see the situation for themselves.
“We told them we wanted the speed limit reduced to 60km/h,” Bell said. “They told us that SANRAL wouldn’t consider it if the road was not in our town.”
First, there needs to be a realisation that roads are not only for cars.
Two major paradigm shifts were needed.
“First, there needs to be a realisation that roads are not only for cars. They are for people getting from one place to another – on foot, on bicycles, even on skateboards. We need to rethink the way cars are used in built-up areas.”
Second, there needed to be a shift in thinking about who was part of Kenton.
“Now that there are the Engen and a shopping centre on the R72, many more people come across the road from Ekuphumleni to shop,” Bell said. “Merryhill, and the schools along the R343 – those are all part of Kenton. People walk to and from Klipfontein and Marselle to get to work in Bushmans River and Kenton, or to catch transport further afield.
“People see these all as different towns, but we are actually one community.”
With the local police, Ndlambe Municipality and provincial traffic authorities behind them, they started looking at what was viable. They want:
Speed reduction
- The speed limit from Boknes to Klipfontein reduced from 100km/h to 80km/h;
- The speed limit from Marselle/ Bushmans River to the top of the rise after the Kariega River bridge reduced to 60km/h;
- From there until after the Kenton Eco-estate, 80km/h. “More people are building in that area and already residents are complaining that they struggle to find a gap in the fast-moving traffic to get on to the road at all.”
Traffic calming furniture, including rumble strips between Boknes and Klipfontein;
At least two speed-trapping cameras – “We believe cameras are the only was to slow people down,” said Bell.
But first, the evidence.
No fewer than 36 volunteers went out in pairs on an ordinary termtime weekday (it was a Tuesday, with no public holiday before or after) to count foot traffic at three points between 6.30am and 5.30pm: the Kenton junction; the Kariega bridge; and the Klipfontein turnoff. They filled in prepared sheets by making a mark in a particular time slot each time a person walked along or across the road.
The results were astounding.
- At the Klipfontein junction, 577;
- Across the bridge dividing Kenton and Bushmans River Mouth, 382;
- At the main Kenton intersection, 2545.
“We want to say to SANRAL, with so many people moving on the R72 between the different areas of this section, why are you not considering them part of our village?”
The group will compile the count, together with 67 letters from Klipfontein residents, video footage of appalling driving on that section, a log of accidents on that stretch, and their specific proposals to make the road safer, and present it to SANRAL for them to include it in their plan for the 2025 road upgrades.
“This is for the next generation,” said Bell.
Jade’s Journey still needs your support.
“If you would like to see the R72 made safer for pedestrians and cyclists, please send a letter of motivation in support of this project,” Bell pleads. “It needs to be a community effort.”
You can email your motivating letter to shona@skyblueguesthouse.com
Read about some of the work leading up to the Jade’s Journey safer road initiative HERE
Read about the healing Beads for Jade project HERE
- This article was first published in Talk of the Town, August 29, 2024. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
