LISTEN: Tardy hotspot Traffic Wardens frustrate motorist
With widespread traffic light outages in Alberton, Ekurhuleni has resorted to deploying Traffic Wardens.
With many traffic lights in Alberton and other parts of the province either faulty or not working at all, the CoE has deployed traffic wardens at busy intersections.
The Alberton R554 and Swartkoppies Road intersection is a headache for many motorists.
“The traffic lights on that intersection have been faulty or not working at all for months. I only started paying attention to them in November. They were not working then and they still are not working. Accidents occur almost daily, never mind the traffic. It’s ridiculous,” said a driver who prefers not to be named.
The unnamed driver uses the intersection daily on the way to work and is frustrated by the wardens’ apparent lateness in getting to that hotspot.
@albertonrecord Alberton motorist frustrated by traffic wardens arriving late at traffic hotspots. #Alberton #Ekurhuleni #TrafficLights
“I got stuck in traffic for half an hour and metros only arrived on the scene at 07:20 to start directing traffic. People leave their houses at 06:00, so traffic wardens should be at these traffic hotspots early for us to avoid getting stuck.”
Alberton, like many other areas in the province, has had faulty or damaged traffic lights caused by avoidable human actions like car crashes, theft and vandalism.
Criminals target traffic lights to extract the copper cable inside them. In a press statement released on August 29, 2023, the CoE expressed concern about what it called “the high costs of replacing traffic lights”.
“The CoE has spent about R120m fixing and replacing traffic lights in the previous financial year that ended June 2022. In some incidents, damaged traffic lights will be replaced with stop signs due to limited funds,” read the statement.
The Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport also raised concerns about vandalism and theft targeting lights in the province.
“These acts of vandalism and theft disrupt the functioning of essential traffic signal services and pose a threat to public safety. These incidents contribute to increased downtime for traffic signals, resulting in an unfavourable user experience, road crashes and substantial costs for the department in rebuilding and replacing stolen equipment,” read the statement released on January 29, 2024.
CoE spokesperson Zweli Dlamini was quoted in the Alberton Record’s January 22 edition as saying the city was trying to implement contingency measures while seeking a permanent solution.
The Record sent queries to the city about the wardens’ apparent lateness and will add the report to the CoE’s comment once received.
