There are 19 traffic lights not working in Fourways, but the province doesn’t have the money to fix them
Councillor David Foley has been at the forefront of trying to get the traffic lights back on, but he seems to be fighting a losing battle. Now, perhaps, there is a light at the end of the tunnel with possible plans to hand traffic light repairs back to JRA.
Ward 94 councillor David Foley took matters into his own hands when he asked the residents of Fourways to help him count traffic lights that are not working.
The number was shocking as he found that there are 19 traffic lights out of order in the area, forcing motorists and pedestrians to gamble with their lives. He said Gauteng is home to a total of 400 traffic signals, with 250 of them located within the City of Johannesburg.
Read more: Fourways residents gamble with their lives as many traffic lights are out of order
The provincial municipality is responsible for managing these signals, which are supposed to be serviced within a 14-day turnaround period. However, it appears that this timeframe is frequently not being adhered to, according to Foley.
As a result he has engaged with the MMC of Transport, Kenny Kunene, and pleaded that the provincial traffic lights in Johannesburg be handed back to Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA).
He said out of the 19 traffic lights that are not working, he is not sure how many were repaired, as many are still off.
“It is not getting any better,” said Foley.
Also read: Check how to report faulty traffic lights in the City of Gold
When asked which traffic intersections should be prioritized for repairs, Foley identified the N1 Randburg off-ramp, a busy junction often fraught with congestion, as the first. Next, he said the intersection of Main and Witkoppen roads, which has seen a rise in hazardous incidents.
Lastly, he pointed out Robert Bruce Road and Winnie Mandela Drive saying that this area has experienced a troubling number of accidents.
“The department said they do not have enough budget to repair these traffic lights. I was informed by more than one credible source within the department that they have run out of budget for the repair of traffic signals, and would be focusing on repairing signals on the N1 and Winnie Mandela by the end of November.”
He said he had a couple of conversations with Kunene after he requested that the traffic lights be handed back to JRA, and he responded positively to his plea.
“It didn’t take this many months for the traffic lights to be repaired when JRA was responsible for them. I did speak with one of the officials from the road agency and they also did not have any problem with taking over the traffic lights, once they were repaired.”
The MEC’s spokesperson, Lesiba Mpya, had not answer queries sent to him at the time of going to print.
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