Crossed lines…

FROM time to time I rail on a bit in this column about the way in which our brother (and sista) leaders ignore those most in need.

How do you define need? In this country that is not easy. For the moment my concern is traffic; the needs of pedestrian traffic.

Once again the atmosphere of life on the South Coast shimmers and crackles with the sound of motor boats, fishermen, children and parents’ laughter (and sobs). A great time is had by all our visitors, thanks in no small part to the army of workers who clean, cook and generally make all the things on which a holiday coast relies, happen.

All the more reason why those in authority over us, especially our dear brother leaders, should be mindful of the needs of those workers.

In my journeys up and down the coast, sometimes as far afield as Durban, I am struck by the lack of simple amenities for pedestrians. The statistics tell us that more people (pedestrians) are killed on our roads each year than in other traffic incidents. And yet the authorities fail to build proper footpaths and footbridges.

Some time ago, in an incident involving a tipper truck, its driver, his passenger and the forces of nature, a pedestrian bridge was spectacularly demolished on the main road out of Port Shepstone to Umtentweni, right outside this august newspaper’s offices. No one was injured, the newspaper had a field day, and seemingly little effort has been made to replace the footbridge.

But it is not only the public sector which appears to ignore the needs of its clients. Look at big business.

A few years ago Pick ’n Pay, a supermarket chain that has reason to be grateful to a colossal number of South Africans (who, in turn have reason to reciprocate that gratitude) opened an excellent store in Margate, sited on the hill overlooking the town’s busiest taxi rank.

To get to the supermarket from the rank the people are required to cross one of the busiest, and by implication most dangerous, roads in Margate. The same people shop in droves at Pick ’n Pay because they are then saved the trouble of carrying that shopping great distances to the taxi rank.

I would have thought that Mr Ackerman and his marvellous team would have realised the value, in both terms of money and goodwill, of building a pedestrian bridge over that road. How much could it cost? And does that matter anyway?

Pedestrian bridges should surely be much more common; it is all very well for one section of the community to complain about poor delivery, with considerable justification, but how about a little thought for those risking their lives day after day crossing the R61 near Ramsgate/Margate.

Of course, we are not the only ones with pedestrian problems. This gem from Ceri Radford, a columnist in the Telegraph last week:

“A head teacher in South Wales has decided to build a footpath directly to the nearest McDonald’s, to prevent hundreds of pupils trudging along a dangerous dual carriageway every lunch time. I can see his point – safety above obesity concerns – but I would suggest an alternative. Instead of a footpath why not build an army-style assault course? A few tyre walls and a climbing net would burn off the Big Macs; a tunnel would limit the pupils’ circumference.”

I believe that would be being proactive.

CB