You don’t casually drive through Ward 94, you calculate every move.
The steering wheel stays tight in your grip, your eyes scanning the road, not for traffic, but for danger. Potholes dictate speed, direction, and sometimes whether you arrive without damage. This is daily life for motorists in parts of Beverley, Lonehill, and Beaulieu, and it is no accident.
Ward 94 councillor David Foley took Fourways Review on a pothole safari. The drive beginning on Robert Bruce Road in Beverley. “We’re going from suburb to suburb to show the state of the roads in my ward and to show that this is not a once-off problem. It’s systemic.”
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Along Robert Bruce Road alone, more than 20 potholes puncture the surface. Foley said formal calls were logged for these defects over a year ago, with some service requests dating back as far as two years. “These potholes have been reported properly, through the correct channels, but, to date, residents are still waiting for them to be filled.”
From Beverley, the pothole safari continued into Lonehill, where evasive driving has become second nature.
At the corner of Crestwood Drive and Concourse Crescent, vehicles are forced toward the edges of the road to avoid deep, expanding craters, so much so that desperate times called for desperate matters. “These potholes were so bad that I, together with community members, filled them with sand ourselves. Not because it’s our job, but because people were damaging vehicles and risking accidents.”
Foley said that these were emergency, temporary measures taken in the absence of a response. “This is what happens when residents feel abandoned. They step in because they have no choice.”
Lonehill resident Sarah Mokoena said she has replaced two tyres in the past six months. “You budget for groceries, school fees, and petrol, not for potholes. Every drive feels like a gamble.”
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To quantify the frustration, Foley conducted a community survey across Ward 94 about the state of the roads in his ward. About 200 residents responded, and the message was clear.
“An overwhelming majority said they are unhappy with the condition of the roads. They specifically pointed to roads in Beverley, Lonehill, and Beaulieu, where potholes have been reported repeatedly with no permanent solution. The list goes on.”
The safari’s final stop after a long day was in Beaulieu, particularly Palamino Road. The condition of the road makes driving slow and hazardous, with sections so degraded that Foley said it has not been properly repaired in more than three decades.
Here, frustration has translated into direct action. Two men were spotted during the pothole safari filling potholes using a bakkie and basic asphalt, not as part of any municipal project, but under instruction from a local employer who could no longer wait.
However, Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) has warned that such repairs are illegal. In terms of Johannesburg’s public road and miscellaneous by-laws, no person may interfere with or conduct work on a public road without prior approval.
JRA’s head of regional operations Khayalethu Gqibitole confirmed that Palamino Road has been inspected multiple times, but said inspections do not guarantee immediate repairs. “Any intervention is subject to technical assessments, budget availability, procurement processes, and alignment with our planned maintenance and capital works programmes.”
He added that Palamino Road was not included in JRA’s resurfacing list compiled in 2018 and remains on the agency’s backlog. “Should funding become available, its condition, safety risks, and frequency of complaints will determine its priority. At this stage, no timeline can be confirmed.”
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Gqibitole said JRA can confirm that the roads listed in the enquiry have been attended to. “There is no possibility that the service request has remained unresolved for two years”
He said Palamino is a low-cost road, meaning there is no proper base constructed. As it is also a very old road, potholes tend to reoccur quickly along this section. “The depot is working tirelessly to patch any emerging potholes on Palamino, as evidenced by the attached photographs.
“Robert Bruce Road has been completely repaired and currently has no potholes. Concourse Road is on our priority list and is scheduled to be repaired. Repair work on Crestwood Road has commenced, however, the work has not yet been completed.”
He said Ward 94 receives significant attention, compared to other wards in the region, and that it is important to note that JRA is responsible for servicing all wards within Region A, and is not limited to Ward 94. “Palamino Street does not currently present defects requiring immediate intervention. Permanent repairs are planned and scheduled accordingly, using the same criteria applied across all wards.”
He added that there is currently no budget to resurface roads in Ward 94, because some of the roads were resurfaced in the last financial year. “Road resurfacing is funded through the Capex budget, which limited in nature. The repair of potholes across the region remains on track.”
“People are paying rates and taxes for services that are not being delivered,” concluded Foley. “Instead, communities are spending their own money on roads because they’ve been left with no alternative. This is basic infrastructure not a luxury.”
He warns that the situation becomes even more dangerous during the rainy season, when potholes fill with water and become invisible hazards. “These roads are accidents waiting to happen, and unless there is accountability and urgency from JRA, residents will continue to suffer the consequences of neglect.”
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