Otji plans emergency centre to tackle B1 crashes

The Otjiwarongo municipality has identified potential land for an emergency response and traffic management centre as part of plans to improve the town’s response to road crashes and other emergencies.

The municipality announced last week that it was in discussions over potential land for the proposed facility, with the talks focused on identifying a suitable site and assessing the centre’s requirements.

According to a document seen by Namibian Sun, the proposed Otjiwarongo Emergency Response and Traffic Management Centre (OERTMC) would be developed through a partnership between the municipality and the National Road Safety Council (NRSC).

The municipality says the increasing frequency and severity of road crashes, delayed emergency response, growing traffic volumes, congestion and the transportation of hazardous goods along the B1 national trunk road require a coordinated response.

Joint operation

The proposed centre would combine emergency response and traffic management functions and use technology to improve the monitoring and coordination of incidents.

It would include closed-circuit television cameras, automatic number-plate recognition, intelligent transport systems, incident management systems, emergency communications and traffic monitoring technologies.

The centre would also use road safety data and analytics to support traffic management and road safety interventions.

The municipality and NRSC would jointly undertake feasibility and technical studies, prepare an implementation roadmap and identify funding and technical assistance for the project.

The municipality says the proposed memorandum of understanding has no negative financial implications for council at this stage.

The municipality discussions around the potential site were still underway, including assessing the requirements for the proposed facility.

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