It has been two weeks since the Church Square traffic lights at the High and Hill Street intersection were officially switched on by the Mayor of Grahamstown, Vumile Lwana.
Within the first week the lights went off on a number of occasions so the intersection reverted back to a four way stop.
It has been two weeks since the Church Square traffic lights at the High and Hill Street intersection were officially switched on by the Mayor of Grahamstown, Vumile Lwana.
Within the first week the lights went off on a number of occasions so the intersection reverted back to a four way stop.
It is believed that this was due to the synchronising cycle getting stuck, but the problem was sorted out by Synchronised Traffic Systems from Port Elizabeth.
Pierre Kapp, Senior Superintendent at the Makana Traffic Department, said: “We must congratulate the public in general for their co-operation and willingness to make it work.”
Kapp said that the public has generally responded positively to the new setup and motorists are adjusting and becoming more patient as they start realising that it is in everybody’s favour to adhere to the rules.
However, Kapp said the pedestrians “need to be more patient and must be prepared to wait a few seconds so that they know they will be able to cross with safety”.
When Grocott’s Mail visited the traffic lights this week a number of sticking points were observed. While the traffic seems to be flowing far more freely compared to the four way stop, there are a few areas of confusion.
At the traffic light outside the Telkom offices, a number of motorists turning left into High Street get confused with the pedestrian man.
Once the pedestrian man turns green (red for motorists) a number of vehicles continued moving into High Street, although it was red for them.
Then, at the traffic lights outside CNA, if you are turning right into Hill Street towards the library and there is a buildup of traffic, you could find yourself waiting for a series of red robots before being able to cross.
A number of motorists still think they can cross over High Street (outside Truworths) if they are in the right hand lane.
However, the right hand lane is only for motorists turning right, while the left lane is for those turning left and going straight.
As for the pedestrians, while there are a few that wait for the green man, they are in the minority as most people do not appear to notice or understand the new robot setup and cross the street willy-nilly.
Yet, all in all, the new system has the potential to work far better than the four way stop did.
