Durban - Pietermaritzburg residents have called on Msunduzi Municipality to place traffic pointsmen at key intersections within the CBD during load shedding.
Residents say that such a move could help ease traffic congestion and help avoid possible accidents.
As load shedding continues to be experienced in many parts of KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa, Pietermaritzburg road users, especially motorists, have expressed their frustration when navigating their way in and out of the city.
“The problem is that some drivers just do not seem to know or want to observe traffic rules, especially the four-way stop, and simply do as they please,” said one resident from Imbali Township.
Another city resident, Lara Edmonds, said that while she had not come up with the idea, she was in full support of it as she believed that traffic movement had to be constantly regulated.
“It is quite obvious that this is something that has to be done, after all we are the KZN capital. Traffic monitoring should be an around-the-clock operation,” said the Athlone resident.
She cited instances where trucks drove through the city and caused damage, arguing that this was an indication of the need for monitoring by the authorities.
Edmonds said she was hoping that there would be more calls from other quarters for pointsmen to be used.
Msunduzi Municipality spokesperson Ntobeko Mkhize was not immediately available to confirm whether the city had received any proposals for pointsmen to be placed at busy intersections.