City of Harare working extra hours to frustrate motorists

NO matter how much they try, City of Harare councillors seem to find it difficult, if not impossible, to avoid attracting negative headlines.

Recently, after flooding the basement at Town House, they floated the idea to unleash those abominable City Parking marshals on leisure spots, from where they were expected to pounce on motorists.

Imagine finding your car clamped after having a whale of a time KwaMereki!

But they have returned with a new invention that has left motorists scratching their heads and muttering under their breath.

They are now plastering the city’s suburban roads with rumble strips — those delightful little bumps that go “thump”, “thump” under your tyres. Those little humps were originally designed to jolt drowsy drivers awake.

Across all suburbs, it seems every road has now been plastered with a generous amount of those little inconveniences.

Now, this would have been a stroke of genius if the city roads were not already brimming with a different kind of jolt — the kind that comes from dodging potholes the size of a small swimming pool.

Imagine you are cruising down your local street, dodging the usual craters, when, suddenly, a brand-new set of rumble strips appears.

Now, you are in a bumpy obstacle course, navigating a chaotic mix of potholes and strips, all the while trying to maintain control of your vehicle. There is more!

These rumble strips, seemingly placed with the precision of a drunken sailor, force you to slow down to a snail’s pace.

A trip to the local shops has become an inconvenient expedition. And let us not forget the safety aspect, because, apparently, that was the whole point of putting up those grotesque obstructions.

Imagine a lone motorist navigating these strips late at night.

The situation becomes a safety hazard beyond just damaged vehicle suspensions.

Navigating these rumble strips at night while moving at slow speeds, particularly in poorly lit areas, may leave motorists vulnerable to criminal activity.

They become sitting ducks for robbers.

One must also not forget the zeal with which the structures were put up.

If they had the same enthusiasm with patching potholes, our roads would have been both navigable and trafficable.

The mamparas that are City of Harare councillors need to be saved from themselves.