The Delft Neighbourhood Watch claim to have their hands full with unruly taxi drivers who are putting the lives of scholars and pedestrians in danger.
On Monday morning, a schoolboy from Delft was bumped by a taxi while on his way to school in Belhar when the taxi jumped a red robot at the intersection of Adam Tas and Stellenbosch Arterial.
Siphesihle Lahliwe from the Delft Neighbourhood Watch said the learner survived the ordeal but only hurt his arm and the taxi fled the scene.
Lahliwe explains: “We as the neighbourhood watch take the learners and pedestrians across the road in the morning and in the afternoon. We stood by the yellow line and were taking the children over the road when the taxi came fast and bumped the child and left only to load other passengers by the stop.”
“The learner is fine. He managed to go to school where his mother was called, his mother came to tell us that he is doing okay and will be staying at school for the day.
“These taxi drivers have made the area opposite the Belhar fire station a taxi rank and they always want to jump the robot and don’t want to stop. They have no respect for us as neighbourhood watches and do not even listen to us, we need assistance from the traffic services or Law Enforcement.”
Spokesperson for the City Traffic and Services, Kevin Jacobs said: “The City’s Traffic Services deploys two traffic wardens each morning to assist learners crossing Stellenbosch Arterial between Adam Tas and Symphony Way. This incident was not reported to the department.”
However, community first responder, Jackie Ockhuizen said the traffic wardens are deployed about 100 metres away from the "deadly intersection".
He said countless of emails have been sent to the mayor as well as to the traffic department to give urgent traffic attention and assistance which is needed in the early morning hours between 6am and 8am to control traffic violations and to assist pedestrians and scholars crossing the intersection at the corners of Adam Tas Street and Stellenbosch Arterial in Belhar safely.
“There is totally no traffic assistance on this intersection at the corners of Adam Tas Street and Stellenbosch Arterial. Yes, there are two traffic officials standing on a pedestrian 100 meters away from the saint intersection corners of Adam Tas Street and Stellenbosch Arterial direction of Symphony Road but there is totally no traffic controller or traffic assistance on this intersection.”
“On this pedestrian where these two traffic officials are standing each and every morning are only crossing less than 100 pedestrians crossing.”
“There is totally no traffic controller's only neighbourhood watch trying to take control of that intersection and even that neighborhood watch can't handle these taxi operators with their reckless and negligent driving attitude.”
