Road edge ‘drop’ posing hazards
Published on: Monday, December 09, 2019
A KEPAYAN cyclist has voiced his misgivings about hazards posed by a “drop” between the surface of the road and a covered drain on one side of the main road leading to the Istana on Signal Hill.
STEVE said the discrepancy in the height between the level of the road and the grille placed over the drain caused vehicles to jolt as they went over this section of the road.
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“There is a seven-inch gap between the surface of the road and the grille,” he said.
He said the smaller the vehicle the bigger the jolt the driver would experience as they went over this sunken grille cover.
“Recreational cyclists, like me, and motorcyclists could easily be thrown off from their bikes.
“I experienced this first hand two years ago when my wheel hit a covered grille which runs across a housing road in Austral Park.”
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Steve injured his right hand, as well as scrapped his palms, as a result of the fall.
As he slowed down to negotiate the slight slope, which led to the covered drain, the front wheel of his bicycle apparently hit one of the grilles, throwing him forward.
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“I landed head first and fractured my right hand. It took me almost two months to recover.
“Up to now, I still cannot stretch my last finger fully.”
Steve said he and his friends regularly cycled along Signal Hill in the wee hours.
“Cyclists may not realise that there is a drop in front of them because of the reduced visibility at this time of the morning.
“On top of this, the grille may be covered beneath a bed of dry leaves and twigs after it rains.”
He said motorists risked being hit from behind as they slowed down to go over the grille cover.
“Alternately, if drivers swerve to avoid it, they risk colliding with oncoming traffic.”
Steve hoped the local authorities would intervene quickly to address this irregularity.
“I hope they are not waiting for a bad accident to happen, and someone to come to harm or worse, before attending to the grille.”
He provided Hotline with the location of this structure. This information was forwarded to the Public Works Department.
A spokesman for the agency said it would have to verify the cyclist’s claims.
“The relevant section will be informed about this potential ‘edge-drop’ problem, as the stretch where the grille is located is under our jurisdiction,” he said.
“Our concessionaire will be asked to deal with the discrepancy between the level of the road and grille as soon as possible.”
A spokeswoman for the firm said this problem may have arisen because of efforts to resurface the road.
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