The Speed Hump Plague Is Spreading Faster Than Army Worms

I am a Kitwe resident, but I recently drove through Chilanga : about 15 mins to travel the few kilometres from Lafarge to ZAWA HQ. And this on the main Cape to Cairo road !!??!

Then the trip back to Kitwe! Lusaka-Kabwe now takes over 2 hours, whereas 20 years ago, when the road was potholed it took 30 minutes less. Yes, much more traffic – but it’s the DOZENS of humps slowing trucks to 10 kph that does the damage.

Now the latest lunacy : 22nd Avenue in Kitwe. New speed limit signs : 65 kph. But on the stretch from Central to Kantanta Streets, the three humps slow vehicles to 10 kph and you can hardly reach 40 kph in between. I have timed, several times, the 300m stretch that contains these humps – it takes about 45 seconds. This works out at 32 kph in a 65 kph zone.

It’s not that I’m totally against humps (though I wish we could stop ‘the boy racers’ some other way) but surely in 2013 we can design and build humps of such a shape and size that they can be crossed at near the speed limit.

I hope you feel you want to use this – I think it might just start something that will lead to an improvement in this situation.

Paul

What do readers think?  Or more importantly what do the Councils and Road authorities think? Ed

Beware Flying Stones

I write to thank you for such a beautiful and truthful article. It is a well researched item. Having lived in Lusaka for some time now, it makes me wonder why this is being allowed. Surely,what sort of government is this that allows everythig to go? Is it that someone is a beneficiary? I dont think that a Planner or an Engineer  can permit such?

Thank you again,

Agnes, Lusaka Resident