Oranjemund Online

ORANJEMUND DISCUSSIONS! => The Photograph Board! => Topic started by: Michael Alexander on January 14, 2008, 11:25:59 AM

Title: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Michael Alexander on January 14, 2008, 11:25:59 AM
Just thought that I'd add a photo I took today of the traffic circles on 5th......
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Dalene Steenkamp (Coetzee) on January 14, 2008, 11:42:22 AM
Would be interesting to get hold of statistics regarding the number of cars that had been written off due to "lack of attention in the middle of the night" on those circles.

Here in Kathu the bricks around the circles are much higher -  so many cars with askewed frond wheels, bent chassis, etc.  Why in the world should the occurance of these incidents be more frequent over weekends?  (hi hi hi hi)

BierSuip
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Michael Alexander on January 14, 2008, 11:45:40 AM
... even more so on a Payday Night when it falls on a friday.... even the streetlights are'nt safe.... the lights along the road to the mine, past the bedsitters are always getting trashed.....

Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: barb (Fry) on January 14, 2008, 04:44:20 PM
the tree in the centre I don't have any memory off, maybe it was smaller, and has grown.  I'm sure there were flowers in my day.

Mike what are the white box things on two sides, look like lights -(facing left and right) i see the chevrons,(top  and bottom)
lots of paint on the road, arrows and triangles ?
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Michael Alexander on January 14, 2008, 06:32:13 PM
Traffic camera's....

Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Michael Alexander on January 14, 2008, 06:33:09 PM
 :emot19:   just joking... I think they are power points of sorts.... I know the next circle down has lights on it over december..... Alfie! You know?
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: barb (Fry) on January 14, 2008, 06:34:15 PM
unbelievable

just missed my window of oppurtunity to slipthis in between your two posts, hhahahahahaha
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: georg ruf jr. on January 14, 2008, 07:22:45 PM
I remember the biggest puddles I saw in OM after rain right here. As Barb already mentioned. Don't remember the tree.
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Michael Alexander on January 14, 2008, 08:17:45 PM
...54 seconds my dear, that's all it would've taken.....

:36_2_35:
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Mike Thurtell on January 25, 2008, 03:23:24 PM
The bricks in the circle used to be much higher - then someone who had an accident challenged his fine and won because the height of the traffic circles' bricks was unlawful! (early 80's/late 70s).

Mike Thurtell
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Barbara Eia (Brownless) on January 25, 2008, 05:44:03 PM
I when i first arrived in england and had to do my license it was a nightmare all the big circles . I was calling them circles and no one knew what i was talking about. Roundabouts over here. This was when we could not use our SA license so i just send money over to SA every year and got international one and drove on those for 5 years. Then the law changed and i was alound to changs SA one for Britsh one.
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Diana Rudd (Boehme) on January 25, 2008, 08:27:46 PM
I got my drivers liscense driving from the old xray down 5th round the circle (which I took in 4th gear) and back.

Scary sh*t if you think about it.
e180
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Barbara Eia (Brownless) on January 25, 2008, 08:50:15 PM
I wish i got my lisence in OM susan did hers there and she also had to drive down 5th ave and back to x ray bossie bosman passed dont know how because when she had finished coming from x ray she stalled the car, think they were very lax those days
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Michael Alexander on January 25, 2008, 09:05:57 PM
I was lucky to get my learners and drivers on the same day up in Windhoek.... it's a nightmare to hear the stories about going for your license in ZA, no wonder most people don't bother with the LYSEEENS!   :emot186:
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: barb (Fry) on January 25, 2008, 09:10:43 PM
I eventually managed to get my licence, 2nd time round.

Had to drive up streets in Sea Point and do 3 point turns, also had to negotiate the intersection out of CT from Waterfront, 5 lanes of traffic.  I took the inspector out towards Bellville, he was not impressed. By the time we got back he was late for his next appointment. Hahaha

Ah well, also he said I accelerated and braked to fast, still have that problem.
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Michael Alexander on January 25, 2008, 09:11:49 PM
Do you find the older you get ...the more paranoid you become on the roads?
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: georg ruf jr. on January 26, 2008, 08:58:20 AM
I'm not sure if I'm more paranoid about the others, or the others about me... hahaha
:36_2_35:
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: georg ruf jr. on January 26, 2008, 08:59:29 AM
By the way Michael. Carefull about using words like paranoid. Might get you a one way ticket..... laughpoint
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Carl Wrbka on April 03, 2008, 12:05:30 PM
Hi,

I remember this traffic circle well. During my time in Oranjemund it had a rocky flowerbed in the middle though. I remember once in the early 80's trying to get my dad's car out of the flowerbed after he had managed to unceremoniously park it there after a night out at Caseys. Does Caseys still exist today ? The circle was also the hangout for the local gemsbok population.
Many nights on my way home from the movies I would bump into a few of them grazing there and on the grass patch behind the power station.

Regards,

Carl Wrbka
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Keith Margetts on April 05, 2008, 05:53:44 AM
Hey Diana,

I did the same strenuous drivers licence test from the old cop station around that circle . . . way back in 1975, at the ripe old age of 21!!

That Canadian Guy,
Keith.
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Michael Alexander on April 05, 2008, 12:42:44 PM
The bar of Casey's is still there, but is now know by the name The Coolbox, and is run by a private guy..... It has changed a lot inside, with a beer garden, gambling machines and a take away restaurant..... you do not really find any white people in there these days, they are all next door in the Snooker and Darts Club......
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Carl Wrbka on April 07, 2008, 07:25:42 AM
With all this talk of strenuous drivers licences, didn't you know that you could have gotten one at Casey's in those days. The local speedcop at the time (I won't mention his name right now) was a regular at Casey's, and If you got him drunk enough he would issue you one right there and then. You probably won't get away with it nowadays, but in those days your licence was just a hand written form signed by the speedcop who took you for your test. The form was then just glued into your ID book. (The big black ones in those days).

My father in law got his code 10 licence that way. I heard there were quite a few others too.
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Diana Rudd (Boehme) on April 07, 2008, 01:24:19 PM
That must have been after our time Carl,remember we got our drivers in ox-wagons.
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: georg ruf jr. on April 07, 2008, 03:43:16 PM
And you had to be the ox to get your licence...
bling1
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Alfred Boehme on April 07, 2008, 09:40:00 PM
 e180
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: SandyB on April 09, 2008, 06:07:09 PM
Carl .. I remember another time .. must  ahve  been  one  of  those  caseys episodes again  .. Your Dad used to  pick your Mom  up  after work at  the  shopping  center .. my father  gave that job  to  me to  pick  my  Mom  up ..  I  remember the  one  day  your  Dad  arrived  and  parked next  to  me  .. the  car if I  remeber  correctly  was  a  valiant  station  wagon  cream  colour .. anyhow  the  entire  drivers  side  was   kind of  totalled ..   scraped  and  looking  like  crumpled  tissue  paper ... i  remeber  your  Mom  ( By  the  way I always  looked  upon  her as a very  unusualy attractive  different  features to  the  ordinary ) coming  out  after  work  looking  still  very angry at  your  Dad .  anyhow  he  must  ahve done  his  best  to  make  amends  as he  did  the  entire  repair  job  himself .. I  observed the buildup of  bodyfiller   each  time  to try  make  good  the  damage .. wonder   how  much more  the  drivers  side  ended  up  weighing with all that  boyfiller ??  It  seemed  to  be  a regular  feature of  Oranjemund caseys nights out and  cars  looking  sorry  the  next  day ....
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Carl Wrbka on April 10, 2008, 07:27:31 PM
The famous Valiant incident. My mom was  :emot186: after too many  BierSuip . The rest is history.
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Michael Alexander on April 10, 2008, 07:42:29 PM
That reminds me of a Billy Summers Story, Billy bought a brand new car in Cape Town, drove all the way back to town, and instead of doing the right thing and going home with it.... he went to Caseys to have a beer or two with th elads, but he was clever and did not park the new car in the usual spot, for fear of a drunk coming out of caseys and trashing his new car, so he parked across the road.... But it did not help, coz my dad was parked next to him, trying to avoid Big Dirk also, so he trashed Billy's car instead...    :emot19:
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: SandyB on April 10, 2008, 08:19:09 PM
@ Carl  it  was  your Mom .. no  wonder  she  looked  so  tense ..
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Dalene Steenkamp (Coetzee) on April 10, 2008, 09:06:42 PM
Wonder why everyone always tried to avoid Big Dirk after a Casey's hang out?

I think the main reason  -  he always offered to drive them home and they were scared sh*tless of that  -  he's driving was often more dangerous than their own intoxicated efforts.     laughpoint 

We checked him and Piet Steyn out one night  -  did we crawl home with laughter!  Should get Johan Steyn to tell me the whole story again, 'cos he and my brother Leon followed them all over town.  They passed Piet Steyn's house - (got lost they said later) that's where tannie Aida and my mom waited for them and we girls were ordered not to trail on with the boys.
Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Michael Alexander on October 26, 2008, 04:17:27 PM
In the above pic..... i think the palm tree looks appropriate................ Better than a Kemeeldoringboom!

Title: Re: The traffic circles on 5th!
Post by: Alfred Boehme on October 27, 2008, 07:28:56 PM
Quote from: Michael Alexander on January 14, 2008, 06:33:09 PM
:emot19:   just joking... I think they are power points of sorts.... I know the next circle down has lights on it over december..... Alfie! You know?

Lights and a power point for the x-mass lights they put on them?