3 days ago
Councillor demands metro fixes traffic lights before lives are lost
Ward 83 councillor, Andrew Lesch, has launched a petition demanding urgent action from the metro to address the dangerous neglect of traffic lights in his ward.
With more than 100 signatures from concerned residents, the petition highlights repeated failures in maintenance that have reportedly already led to serious and fatal accidents.
Lesch warned that, within Ward 83 alone, several traffic lights remain unrepaired after vehicle collisions, including intersections at:
– Mante Road (previously called 'Mantis' Road),
– Garstfontein and Lois Road
– Garstfontein and January Masilela Road
– Nossob and Jochemus Street
– Delmas and Nossob Street.
Lesch also said that beyond lights, critical warning signs such as chevrons and road markings are missing, especially at Rubenstein and Rutgers Streets in Moreleta Park, which he identified as the most notorious of the affected locations.
He added that inadequate street lighting compounds the safety risks, arguing that residents of his ward cannot be further exposed to unnecessary and preventable dangers caused by the lack of service delivery by the metro.
'The petition calls for immediate replacement of the missing traffic lights and signage and proper maintenance as required by law.'
In response, metro spokesperson. Lindela Mashigo said reference numbers for the petition exist in the system, but there is no clear record of when the issues were first lodged, so their initial lodgement dates remain undetermined.
He added that no road safety risk assessments have been carried out regarding the missing signage.
On the financial side, Mashigo explained that the metro does not allocate maintenance budgets per ward.
'Instead, the metro receives a collective allocation of approximately R6.6-million to maintain all 1 014 signalised intersections across the metro.'
When asked which intersections in Ward 83 are scheduled for repair and their timelines, Mashigo provided the following status updates, as of August 12:
– Garstfontein and [Mantis] Road, where a pole is missing, has been made safe and operational, and pole replacement was scheduled for August 12–15
– At Garstfontein and Lois Road, two totem poles are down, but the site has been made safe, and removal of the old poles was also scheduled for August 12–15
– Garstfontein and January Masilela Road has a skewed pole, which has been made safe and operational, but replacement awaits the awarding of a materials tender
– Nossob and Jochemus Street has a missing overhead pole; it has been made safe, but the replacement similarly awaits a tender award
– At Delmas and Nossob, a pole has been cut down, likely stolen, but again the site is made safe, and the replacement awaits a tender award
– Solomon Mahlangu Road and Lois Avenue has a skewed pole made safe, but replacement is pending the same tender process
– At Solomon Mahlangu and January Masilela Road, an accident-damaged pole has been made safe and awaits replacement through the same tendering procedures.
Asked if any of these intersections are part of any broader upgrade works, Mashigo said that none from the traffic signal unit are scheduled for inclusion.
He said the initial damage was caused by vehicle collisions, yet no further accidents have been reported at those sites since the intersections were made operational again.
'The metro traffic signal teams respond daily to minor damages to ensure intersections remain safe.
'Major repairs, including full pole replacements or trenching for cable replacements, require additional funding and labour and are often paused until minor faults are addressed due to limitations in manpower and resources.
'Supply chain processes are underway to appoint outsourced service providers for additional labour and to supply the necessary materials for traffic light and signage restoration.'
Mashigo said to prevent further delays and restore safety, the traffic signals maintenance team prioritises isolating faults and making intersections safe.
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