Suburban
The Borrowdale Ratepayers and Residents Association (BRRA) this week started painting road markings at the traffic lights at the intersection of Crowhill Road and Borrowdale Road.
Peter Tanyanyiwa Suburban Reporter
The road works are being bankrolled by residents who made contributions from their own pockets to have the new traffic light at the busy intersection commissioned and help improve the flow of traffic.
The BRRA executive has thanked all the residents who have contributed so far while they are carrying on with the fundraising efforts so that they can also redo the road markings on the Harare Drive and Borrowdale Road intersection. The Harare Drive and Borrowdale Road intersection is also one of the major and busy intersections in the northern suburbs.
BRRA committee member Mrs Pat Townsend who was part of the coordinators on the ground said they still need more money to finish the road marking paintings on the two major intersections.She said the residents’ body is urging all Borrowdale residents to get involved and donate if they haven’t already done so.
“We still have the zebra crossing to do at Helensvale on Crowhill (Road), then the Harare Drive and Borrowdale Road intersection to still do. We need about US$700 for all that,” she said.
“The Crowhill intersection traffic lights are new and COH (City of Harare) could not commission them until the road markings had been done. So residents rallied together to get that done, to assist with the heavy traffic during peak hours. We can say thanks to those individuals and companies in the area who have donated so far,” said Mrs Townsend.
The Borrowdale Ratepayers and Residents Association has been commended for being a progressive residents’ body and of late the association has been displaying those qualities by urging Borrowdale residents to pay their council bills to ensure the cash strapped Harare City Council provides services.
Moved by the dangers posed by the non-functioning traffic lights at the intersection of Crowhill Road and Domboshava Road, Borrowdale residents through the BRRA recently resolved to paint the road markings so the traffic lights can be commissioned.
Besides being a potential accident hazard, the non-commissioned traffic lights were also a concern for the residents because of the heavy congestion and delays motorists experience while negotiating their way through.
In an interview with Suburban last week, the BRRA chairperson Mr Robert Mutyasira said they had to take the lead on the traffic lights works as the intersection had become a nightmare.
“We are currently spearheading a traffic lights project where Crowhill and Domboshava Roads meet, the absence of which has been the cause of delayed traffic flow and congestion at this intersection. We hope the residents will keep on supporting us as we try to push for development as an association,” he said.
The residents’ move follow the announcement by Government to reduce congestion on roads in urban areas and their efforts are complementing the work by the State and City of Harare.
The BRRA has also hinted on a possible partnership with the City of Harare for the management of refuse collection trucks servicing Ward 18.
Mr Mutyasira said that soon the BRRA shall be announcing a possible partnership with the City of Harare for the management of refuse collection trucks once the Memorandum of Understanding has been signed.
“This initiative will also require funding from residents. The Borrowdale District Office known as ‘the round house’ and an icon of our suburb needs some structural repairs and we all know our local authority is incapacitated to take care of those so we cannot watch the roof collapse when we can do something about it,” he said.
“Restoration of tools such as brush cutters and the resources for the grass cutting and clearing of overgrown bushes in most parts of Borrowdale and surrounding areas have been made possible by the contributions of other residents who subscribe to the BBRA annually and also donate in cash and in kind,” said Mr Mutyasira.
