Hiking spots closed to pave way for bus rank
Bonte Seepi | Thursday March 26, 2015 17:39
Speaking during the media conference on the opening of the new Palapye bus/taxi rank, the chief civil and mechanical officer under Palapye Administration Authority’s roads department, Boitumelo Keikitse said that the hiking spots had been closed to give way to construction of entry and exit points for the bus/taxi rank.
Keikitse said that according to the public transport regulations, there should be a distance of at least 200m between the major junctions and hiking spots, which he said was not the case with the Francistown and Serowe hiking spots.
“The reason why there should be at least 200m space between the two is to avoid congestion and confusion among drivers.
“If the hiking spot is too close to the major junction, traffic won’t flow properly because there would be too much congestion.
“Other vehicles will be forced to stop at the hiking spot and cause confusion among other road users,” explained Keikitse.
He said that even though people prefer hitchhiking to using public transport, it is not allowed in the public transport regulations.
“Many people like to hitch-hike rather than use public transport, but hitch-hiking is against the law. The public must use public transport for their own safety. “The hiking spots have no lights so they are not safe for the people to use at night.
We all know that many criminal activities take place at the hiking spots as compared to the bus/taxi ranks.”
He added that thugs have developed a habit of stealing people’s belongings at these hiking spots all over the country.
The Palapye Administration Authority, Senior Assistant Council Secretary (SACS), Koti Molefi, said that public safety is a priority and that it is their concern as the Central District Council to ensure that people’s lives are safe.
“We are trying at all costs to avoid hiking spots and to discourage hiking because it puts people’s lives at risk.
“People must also understand that there is congestion in Palapye when getting towards the bus/taxi rank, especially during the holidays when many people are travelling.
“So by closing the hiking spots, we wanted to reduce traffic which increase chances of road accidents.
“When there is congestion in the roads, chances of accidents become very high. That is why Palapye traffic lights are always hit, it is because of too much congestion and it causes serious problems,” Molefi said.
Molefi further said that people must also understand that some developments can cause some problems, as there are always advantages and disadvantages.
He said that such problems would be addressed as time goes on. Meanwhile, he said that even though there are such problems, people must also appreciate developments, hence balancing the issues.