Young and old were seen in passages trying to find their way, asking for help from any security personnel who came their way.
“How do we get out of this place now?” one shopper was heard asking his wife.
Shopper Andile Mdula, from Amalinda, said he was impressed with the mall but was irritated by the lack of electronic maps to find the stores.
“I was expecting to search on a map and type in the name of the shop I'm looking for and then go straight there, instead looking all over the place,” he said.
Yesterday, mall management said 99317 people visited the mall on its opening day, 24 September. At 12pm on Thursday, 46,000 people had come through the doors, and by 4pm, the figure was at 60,000.
Yesterday's figures were not available at the time of going to press.
Shopper Tammy Peinke admired the beauty of the mall and the many new stores but she, too, had problems getting around.
“Without the proper navigation you have no idea where you are going and there are no exit signs, other than that, it's got a lovely selection of shops.”
A security guard who did not want to be named said so far the only thing that they had attended to were people asking for directions.
“People ask for directions to stores and to the parking lot, and I must admit some of their questions I did not have answers for.”
Another guard said at least 10 people had asked him for directions.
“The fact that the lifts are not working is also a problem,” he said.
On Thursday, noon traffic backed up along Western Avenue as far as Devereux Avenue as motorists queued to visit the 12th biggest mall in the country.
Yesterday, the mall itself was still busy and traffic was much the same.
The city's traffic and law commander Ntobeko Stemele said traffic and law enforcement officials would be on standby at the mall till late on Sunday.
Ward 29 councillor Rowan Thiele said traffic had been chaotic on Two Rivers Drive on Thursday, to the extent that there were cars parked along the drive.
“Most residents are going to be affected negatively ... if they (the developers, the Billion Group) implement some measures it would be fantastic.
“But there is no getting away from the fact that people from Dorchester Heights will be affected.”
By yesterday, a total of R40-million had been spent on the upgrade of the Western Avenue bridge section and surrounding areas.
Another R30m was spent on rebuilding a portion of Two Rivers Drive past the mall.
Source: Daily Dispatch
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