Gauteng has one of the country’s highest traffic densities and consequently one of the highest road fatality rates. Factors that have contributed to serious traffic congestion in Gauteng over the past decade are:
• A developing economy
• Traffic signal upgrades
• Exponential growth in both commercial and residential developments
• The start of construction on the Gautrain project in 2007
• Ever-increasing new vehicle sales
• Power outage crisis
• A lack of road infrastructure development and upgrades
August 2005 - Launch of static team
August 2005 saw the introduction of Traffic Freeflow’s unique pointsmen project. 21 pointsmen were strategically placed at high-volume intersections within JMPD boundaries, requiring traffic signals. These points were identified by JMPD, the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) and motorists.
October 2006 - Launch of mobile team
In October 2006 a team of ten mobile pointsmen were trained and licensed to ride motorcycles to further alleviate the city’s congested roads. At this juncture, Talk Radio 702 joined the project as its media partner. It is a strategic partnership because motorists regularly provide the station’s traffic desk with information regarding prevailing traffic conditions which is then provided to Traffic Freeflow’s Ops Centre.
Information from the Talk Radio 702 traffic desk; information from the JMPD control centre; the JRA hotline and Trafficnet is passed on to the Traffic Freeflow Operations Centre and ensures that the mobile pointsmen are dispatched via motorcycles timeously to minimise traffic delays. In August 2007 this team was increased to 15 and in May 2008 to 25 pointsmen.
The Traffic Freeflow pointsmen Initiative is the first of its kind in terms of Public Private Partnerships and not only contributes to the upliftment of people from underprivileged communities through skills development, but has proven to be a sustainable solution to the improvement of traffic flow on Gauteng roads.
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