Motorists, consider residents of streets

DEAR motorists who make use of Church Road and Short Road, Upper Walmer toreduce theirtravelling time when travelling between Eighth Avenue and 14th Avenue.

As residents of those two roads, we would like to point out that this is where we live. This is where we ride our bicycles.

This is where we take our children for walks and/or bicycle rides. This is where we jog.

This is where we take our dogs for walks. This is where we walk to each other's houses.

We understand that Main Road has traffic lights and carries more traffic, but that does not mean that, by default, Church and Short roads become alternative routes. Church and Short roads are in a strictly residential area, not a throughway for those who do not have any patience for traffic.

According to the National Traffic Act, the speed limit on roads within a residential area is 30km/h, not 60km/h and certainly not 120km/h. Furthermore, a stop sign requires every vehicle to come to a complete stop.

For those of you who do not believe those stop signs apply to you, we are sorry to disappoint you but they apply to everyone. A few pets have already been run over by careless and/or speeding motorists.

The situation is worsening by the day and we are trying to prevent a situation where the next victim is a cyclist, a child or a domestic worker. Please slow down to a safe speed and abide by the rules of the road, including stopping at the stop signs.

Name supplied, Walmer, Port Elizabeth