Neglected Hillary streetlight poses safety hazard
Commenting on the issue of the streetlight which has not been repaired for almost three years, the municipality says it is facing a challenge with a significant backlog of faulty streetlights due to theft and vandalism.
HILLARY resident Johan Nel says he has lost hope that a street light pole that fell due to strong winds in 2022 will be repaired during his lifetime.
The pole, marked number 16 in Valerie Road, has been lying on the ground, cut in pieces, for almost three years now. The cables are still tied to the bottom of the pole and according to Nel, when it rains there are sparks on the cables of this pole.
“School learners have been playing on this pole on the ground,” said the resident.
The Queensburgh News wrote a story in August last year but that was also in vain.
Also read: Broken streetlight pole keeps Hillary residents in the dark
“An electrician did come out. He advised me that there were no poles available. I do not know what to do anymore; even prior to the newspaper article, I had reported the pole on many occasions for more than two years.”
In the two years, Nel said that four contractors have been to the area but the pole is still lying on the ground in pieces, with no working streetlight.
According to the resident, the second contractor that came out, cut off the power of another light pole in Waverley Road, which left them with two poles that are not working.
The Queensburgh News visited the area again recently to find the pole still lying in the same place and this time with overgrown vegetation around it.
Nel pointed out that the summer season is almost over and it will start to get dark quicker.
“My concern is that this pole is at a dangerous intersection and there have been many near accidents when it is dark. Must a serious accident happen before they do something about it?” asked the fed-up resident.
Nel also raised the issue of crime.
“The criminals will be back in full force as they have a field day when it gets dark – they roam around the street, and it’s easier for them to get access into people’s home without anyone noticing them.
“When the pole fell, the light fittings were stolen within a week.”
EThekwini Municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the City is facing a challenge with a significant backlog of faulty streetlights with theft and vandalism as a contributing factor.
“The enquiry has been escalated and will receive urgent attention. A team will visit the area to investigate the root cause of the fault and work on repairs.”
Sisilana urged residents to play an active role in reporting electricity faults, outages, theft of electricity infrastructure to the toll-free number; 080 311 1111. Residents can also send an email to electricity.faults@durban.gov.za
Alternatively, residents can log the faulty streetlights to the WhatsApp number 076 791 2449 or through the eThekwini mobile App.
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