Request for traffic calming in Bantry Bay

There is an application for traffic calming measures at the intersection of Seacliff and Beach roads in Bantry Bay.

Sub-council 16 has noted an application for traffic calming measures at the intersection of Seacliff and Beach roads in Bantry Bay.

A resident in the area, Sven Patterson, said the intersection at Seacliff and Beach roads is very dangerous because of an ineffective stop sign.

“Currently vehicles and motorbikes coming down the narrow Seacliff Road frequently do not stop at the stop sign and go straight through the intersection and continue along Beach Road.

“This is dangerous for oncoming traffic on Beach Road who have right of way as well as pedestrians and cyclists,” he said.

He said the vehicles often come down Seacliff Road at high speed without stopping properly.

He suggested that a speed hump in addition to the stop sign would ensure that speeding vehicles were forced to slow down and heed the stop sign and reduce the risk of accidents and death or injury to cyclists and pedestrians.

In a document addressed to Sub-council 16, however, the City’s traffic engineering technician, Thulani Makibi, said they did not believe that circumstances exist to justify the implementation of traffic calming measures within Seacliff Road, Bantry Bay.

He said speeding was a universal issue throughout the city and therefore could not be used in its entirety to justify the need for traffic calming.

“The Traffic Calming policy currently has a focus on schools, where high concentrations of vulnerable road users are typically encountered at school entrances. There are no school entrances fronting Seacliff Road and Beach Road intersection,” he said.

Mr Makibi said Seacliff Road, Bantry Bay, was classified as a Class 5 local street with a road length of 150m.

It is a short one-way street with an extremely steep down gradient which is used as an alternative, to access Beach Road; instead of Victoria Road, however, he said this particular route was not seen as an attractive alternative.

“The section of Beach Road under investigation has a relatively low traffic volume compared to other portions of Beach Road. Seacliff Road is mostly used by runners (in both directions) and cyclists (in the one-way direction). The stop street road markings and sign at the intersection are unobstructed and clear,” he said.