Many street lights in Ekurhuleni are broken, and residents believe most of the City’s streets had been left in the darkness due to a lack of maintenance, supplies, and not having enough electricians.
Information gathered after many people raised concerns about the faulty lights suggests that this is a citywide problem, and the most affected areas include main roads, busy intersections and the CBDs.
Some of the streets had been left in the dark for years, compromising safety of communities despite having being reported to the City’s call centre several times.
While some parts of the City are without working street lights, there are some streets that have lights burning all day and night, wasting electricity and taxpayers’ money.
It’s understood that in some areas it took months of reporting damaged streets lights and then repairs are eventually done, but the lights go off after a few days.
It’s still unclear as to what causes the delays in providing immediate attention to faulty street lights, but this publication has submitted a media inquiry to the metro requesting detailed information on what has been done or is being done to address the problem of street lighting in the City.
Ward councillors in Boksburg share the residents’ sentiments, and said dysfunctional street lights are a big issue for people in Ekurhuleni as they obviously present safety issues, especially in crime hot spots.
“I’d received a number of complaints from concerned residents, and have asked officials to get the lights back on, but nothing has been done to clear the backlog,” said ward councillor said de Vos.
“With broken street lights, many roads go completely dark after sunset and it makes people feel much more vulnerable daily as they go about their lives. In some areas, lights along the roads have not worked for years,” said de Vos.
The Advertiser received a substantial amount of comments from our readers when it posted a question on Facebook asking residents if street lights in their neighbourhoods were working.
The readers’ general feeling was that the metro was ignoring their request for municipality to fix its many broken streetlights.
Here’s what our readers said:
Mvuzo Dlomo: Jansen Park in Boksburg is poorly lit. We struggle with plenty of crime in the area and we are sure that proper lighting will help in increasing visibility that can reduce crime.
Raygon Dominique de Bruin: Main Reef Road, between Rondebult and Rietfontein roads. Comet/Boksburg North. That stretch of road is dark and dangerous. Those lights have been out for a good two years now. Not sure if it was reported.
Michelle Mickey Naude: Sky Street Boksburg North few lights are out. It’s not good because we live next to two open fields and it’s dark and we have this bend in the road. If you are not careful you might go off the road, especially at night .
Megan Swanepoel: Trichardts Road from North Rand Road lights have been on permanently since January this year. Some of the lights have gone off I am sure the bulbs are done. Such a waste.
Tammywynette Smal: President Street, Jansen Park. We’ve reported it, they ‘repaired’ it, now only working a couple of hours a night if you’re lucky. Been like that for months now. The street light cable box is constantly broken open and cables cut.
Gerhard Swanepoel: Dawn Park, Galahad and Schachat Crescent. Have been reporting it over a year now. There are live wires sticking out and it is just not being fixed.
Sue Liddell: Els, Peacock Roads Atlasville … lights on all day, reporting since July! Amazing how we have load-shedding yet nothing is done to save power by ensuring street lights are off in daylight!
Senio do Pereiro: Who cares about street lights when we have no power nor most of the traffic lights do not work? Corruption at its finest. Some political fat cat filling his pockets like in every state-run enterprise/development.
Glendyr Benn: Reference 4237782 reported on May 25, 2020, street lights out Sydney Road between intersection of Edgar and Rigg streets been out for years nothing done about it and its really dark outside Greenwich Village. Hope something can be done.
Sandra Janse van Vuuren: Brentwood Park Road not working for two years! Did report and they state they do not have the equipment to fix it. It’s a busy road and dark at night and dangerous.
Paul Metcalf: The whole of Pollux Street Sunward Park reported many times with reference numbers, but no action taken all we do is pay and pay. This municipality is totally useless.
Louis J. Hattingh: Kingfisher Road in Sunward Park from the hospital to the church, been reported on many occasions and no one has bothered.
Rosie Viljoen Bouwer: Span Lane in Boksburg North c/r 5th Street and 6th street and Carl Cilliers Street there are four lights and nothing is working making the whole street dark. Have reported many times and every time you phone they say reference is cleared, it is fixed so we have given up.
Karen Armstrong Landsberg: Cumberland Road Witfield, reported many times, nothing done must be over a year.
Renette Van Niekerk: Sola crescent Impala Park has been down for the whole of lockdown. Been reported
Leone Boshoff: Only a few lights working down Kingfisher going towards Barry Marais to Van dyk Park. Very dark. Please check whole of Kingfisher.
Lerato Lee Motloung Makhado: Vosloorus Extension Two, they are always on. It’s been almost two years now … with the issue on electricity usage, I think they should try by all means to save.
Jessica Lundy: Solomon Road, Boksburg South also not working quite a few lights has been down for more than a year.
Errol Contrisceri: Henderson Ave, Libradene. Light fixture on pole is loose and reported it several times and last time they just wedged a piece of wood in between. Light flickers on and off all the time.
Bianca Alberts: Pollux Road, Sunward Park – reported by various residents on many occasions.
Dale Lynn Boxshall-Smith: Trekvoel Road Atlasville … on all day and night. Residents log faults, but nothing ever happened.
Mkhize Laiza: We don’t have any street light in Villa Liza, next to the dumping site, new houses site.
Jenny Ross: Boksburg CBD, Frere Street, haven’t had streetlights for over a year now, reported various times, no response.
Marita Sabatier: Ours are working, Bedford Road Farrar Park, but they are on all day.
Hennie Theron: Our light in 7 Dinsley Road, Freeway Park has been out since October, 2019. We have reported it on numerous occasions and get told every time it has been escalated.
Sandra Hartmann: Tassenberg Street, Ravensky. I stopped reporting as they repair them and two weeks later the lights get vandalized. No point in reporting them anymore
Mandy Prinsloo: Impala Park has several lights out and have been reported over and over.
Denise Terblanche: Parts of Lancaster and Waterson in Parkdene been out for ages, and were reported.
Yolandi Ludick: Most streets in Witfield are dark at night, not even to speak about the streets in Jet Park.
Melissa Bezuidenhout: Only half of our street lights work. And the trees block them; Reitz Street Cinderella.
Nevilleen Naydine Lance: Windmill Park Frost Street been off a few months now and was reported.
Elise van der Schyff: Ash Avenue Plantation. Reported August 27, ref no 4359406. No response as yet.
Asanda Nthite: Barry Marais from Vosloorus all the way past Boksburg Prison, that road is a nightmare after dark. It’s been a year now. They worked for couple of weeks, and never again.
Belinda Slabbert: Not all lights in Urwin and Bester are working.
Pieter Noeth: Boksburg all the street lights have for more than a year burning day and night.
Gary Johnson-Barker: 1st Street, Boksburg North, not fixed. Soon after they get fixed copper thief steals the cables. They burn the cable at the old Cason mine site and scrap metal dealers pay a pittance for the loot.
Natasha James: Klopper Ave in Libradene, they haven’t worked for about two years.
Louise Nel Bauermeister: Karee Street in Elspark not working reported more than once for years now. I gave up.
Beautarie Beautique: Market Street in Boksburg Central. In front of the Lake. They haven’t worked in months. I started living here in January found it like that. Same street with home affairs.
Erika Woest: Urwin Street, Witfield. Reported the lights on many occasions, but nothing gets done and if they do come out they fix only one light and leave the rest. Ref: 4349932, last call was on August 20, and we are still waiting.
Verdi van Rensburg: 8th Avenue in Boksburg North from 3rd Street till Paul Smith has been out for ages and is so unsafe.
Peter Lemmetjies: In Reiger Park flood lights right at ward councillor Crawford’s house, are burning 24/7.
Also Read: Non-functioning street lights in the city remains a concern
Also Read: Street lights burn all day to apparently prevent vandalism
