Blog

From the 1820s, this used to be the road that led from the little settlement on the hill, to Cape Town . As the town grew, and the freeway system developed to bypass town on the way to Capetown, it remained as one of the main arterial routes. This is the intersection that leads across Cape Road, down Target Kloof and into Walmer, which used to be a seperate village, but is now a suburb of PE. It is known as 5-ways, (which is pretty literal, because it is a 5 way intersection!). The photo was taken a few months ago, and the lights were working! Trust me, you do NOT want to be at this intersection at rush hour during load shedding! I had the experience earlier this week, and have no desire to repeat it. Clearly, when the lights are off , the concept of treating every intersection as a 4-way stop doesn’t work at a 5 way intersection! Apparently due to a staff shortage, not a traffic officer was in sight to direct the chaotic situation.(For the in-initiated, load shedding is the latest catch-phrase used by our power supply monopoly, Eskom, who have messed up badly and are unable to supply enough power for the country, so they just switch it off for big chunks of the day, creating unbelievable snarl-ups, not to mention the impact on our economy.)