Paying for Safety: Frustrated Umhlanga Residents Offer R60,000 Per Speed Hump to Stop Street Racers

In an unprecedented move born of sheer desperation, residents of Umhlanga are opening their own wallets to combat a dangerous speeding crisis, offering to pay up to R60,000 per speed hump after months of pleading with the eThekwini municipality has yielded no results. Fed up with what they describe as weekend street racing, engine revving, and burnout sessions that turn their roads into perilous tracks, the community says it’s time to fund their own solution.

The situation is particularly dire along Marine Drive, a scenic coastal road now notorious for high-speed antics that continue into the early hours. “We are fed up with the speeding on our roads. It has become difficult just to leave our driveways safely,” said Enrico Manfron, a resident and member of the community group Park to Park.

A Blind Rise and a Beach Crossing: The Danger Zones

The group, comprising 25 concerned locals, has identified critical hotspots. The servitude area near the beach, a main pedestrian crossing point, lacks a clear speed limit and sees constant speeding. Another major concern is a blind rise on a hill between La Lucia Sands and The Dunes, where accelerating cars pose a severe threat to residents entering and exiting their driveways.

“We have been emailing for two months and still have not received a response,” Manfron said of their efforts to engage the city through Ward 35 Councillor Bradley Singh. With bureaucratic wheels turning slowly, the community has decided to act.

Self-Funding a Safer Neighborhood

Residents are now proposing to fully fund the installation of two table-top speed humps, the more effective but expensive option costing between R30,000 and R60,000 each. “We understand there could be budget constraints, so the residents of the area are happy to pay,” Manfron explained, adding they could even organise the installation themselves post-approval.

Councillor Singh confirmed he has forwarded the community’s unprecedented offer to the eThekwini Transport Authority. The final decision hinges on the municipality’s speed hump policy and whether the request meets its technical and safety criteria.

For now, the community waits, hoping their offer to privately fund public safety will be approved before the inevitable serious accident occurs. Their stand highlights a growing rift between citizens’ urgent needs and a municipality’s capacity to respond, setting a startling precedent: when the city cannot act, must residents buy their own peace and safety?