Durban — Kenville residents met with engineers seeking answers for the reopening of Kenville Road on Thursday.
This was after the road was closed in 2018 because of an incomplete construction project at that time.
The road has been closed ever since, and the closure has been affecting residents and businesses for the longest time.
Resident Mariam Khan said people who go to the mosque are the ones that are mostly affected by the road closure.
“The mosque is finding more inconvenience because people go there almost five times a day, they have less students at the school, and the flats are empty because most tenants have moved out,” said Khan.
According to ward councillor Bobby Maharaj, the closure of the road is due to children's safety concerns, not because of unsound construction.
He said that a while back, he was informed that there had been a stoppage of work by informal settlers, concerning that should the road be reopened without speed humps, it might cause harm to the kids.
“There are kids living in the informal settlements near Kennedy Road, and they have no clue about dangers of crossing the road. They just pass without looking twice because by the time the road was closed five years ago, they were not yet born.
“This raises much concern because we must prioritise a person's life above everything else, which is why it is important that we first put speed humps before reopening the road,” said Maharaj.
He said that he has been raising the issue with the municipality over the years because he wants it resolved urgently so that the road does not cause any more inconvenience to businesses and residents.
“We had a chat with the municipality, and I was informed that the road does not qualify for speed humps. Now this is a cause for concern because it is dangerous for kids,” said Maharaj.
He said the public must be patient in the meantime while respective teams and departments are still working around the issue.
The municipality has been approached for a comment.
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