Frantic scampering, close shaves and overloaded taxis sum up the almost daily chaos which ensues at the converging entrances of three Uitenhage schools, without a traffic officer in sight.
The corner of Dower Avenue and Gibbon Street is arguably the most congested stretch of road in the metro between 7am and 8am, as well as between 2pm and 3pm when more than 3,500 pupils converge in the narrow road, dodging cars, and each other, in a race to catch the “coolest” taxi.
The schools – Uitenhage High School, Gamble Street High School and Dower Primary School – said traffic control in the area was a problem spanning at least a decade, with the issue exacerbated by the annual increase in pupil intake.
And while police and traffic officials occasionally “popped by”, this remained infrequent despite numerous requests from the schools for their intervention.
The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality’s director of traffic services, Warren Prins, however, claimed he was unaware of the situation.
On Friday, principals of the schools provided case numbers, recorded incidents and testimonies of pupils who were bumped – spanning more than several years – in the 200m stretch of road.
And while there have been no fatalities , all believe it is merely a matter of time.
Dower Primary principal Marthinus Steyn said two weeks ago one of their almost 1,000 pupils was admitted to hospital after being bumped less than 100m from the school’s entrance.
The following week, the driver of a Toyota Quantum was caught offloading at least 40 pupils outside Gamble Street High School, according to principal Anne Radcliffe.
Steyn said the school’s governing body had on several occasions written, phoned and physically visited the traffic office to ask for assistance, which he said “will be here the one day and gone the next”.
“Imagine almost 4,000 pupils in little more than a 100m radius – it is absolute chaos.
“While we have never had fatalities, two weeks ago a Grade 7 pupil was bumped by a taxi. It dislocated her shoulder but she is back at school.”
Steyn said that in 2018 a pupil standing on the pavement was bumped by a car trying to park.
“The road is so narrow, there is no place for cars to park and of course there is the issue of taxis in what is probably the most densely populated school precinct in the metro between 2pm and 3pm.
“These taxis have also started with other tricks, parking just around the corner and overloading their vehicles because they realise we are starting to take photos.”
Uitenhage High School principal Mark Williams said one of their almost 1,400 pupils was also bumped in 2018 and they have had several close shaves over the last few years.
“The children seemingly only want to get into certain taxis, which they presumably think are the coolest taxis because of their loud music and styling.
“So they race across the road, overloading the taxis while other taxis just drive by.
“We have also tried scholar transport in the form of buses, but that didn’t work because the pupils insist on riding in the taxis.
“We can’t even set up scholar patrol – there are just too many children in the vicinity.”
Residents in Gibbon Street said the loud music in the taxis, their complete disregard for properties as they parked on private lawns and paving, as well as pupil safety, had made them resent the drivers.
One taxi driver, who asked not to be named, said: “We don’t force these children to get into our taxis.
“If they want to climb in I am not going to stop them – I am not their father.”
Prins said he was not aware that the schools had written to the city and if they wanted any intervention on a public road, they had to apply in writing.
“There are different ways to justify a speed hump.
“One thing is that we need to look at the pedestrian count – how many people are walking on the road.
“The other one is how many vehicles drive up and down there, and we also take the average speed measured against speed limit of the road.”
Steyn, however, insisted that the traffic department was aware of the situation.
“This is not a new issue, it has been like this for years.
“My SGB [school governing body] have been back and forth writing letters, visiting the traffic offices to find out exactly what needs to be done for us to get policing in the area, specifically at 2pm when all the schools come out.
“We do exactly as we are told but it amounts to nothing,” Steyn said.
“We are at our wits’ end, traffic officials have even gone as far as coming out to take photos of the scenes earlier this year, but nothing comes of it.”