Traffic lights saga continues
“We had a meeting with Eskom on January 14, they agreed to switch on the traffic lights, and to put back the meters. We are at an advanced stage to remedy the crisis. We apologise for the inconvenience caused,” he said.
BURGERSFORT – It’s every motorist’s nightmare to navigate heavy traffic when the lights are not working.
For the past 10 months, only two traffic lights have been operating in Burgersfort. A group of locals previously bombarded the Steelburger/Lydenburg News’s office with complaints about their vehicles sustaining damage at intersections in town.
Despite residents’ pleas, the robots still remain out of order. The community accused the Greater Tubatse Municipality (GTM) of neglecting their needs and not taking their safety seriously.
“The malfunctioning robots pose a great danger to motorists and pedestrians alike. I was recently involved in an accident when an oncoming car did not stop at the traffic lights,” said a resident, Mr Sibusiso Matjie. He said he escaped with minor injuries.
Other motorists complained to the newspaper that GTM was not prepared to address the problem. They feared the municipality was only going to react if lives were lost as a result. Taxi associations also joined the fight as they called the Steelburger/Lydenburg News’ offices complaining about the debacle.
At this juncture, six sets of lights are not operating.
The crisis is not only experienced in town – in Praktiseer the traffic lights are broken and obviously neglected. The electric boxes of these lights are left open, and residents say this promotes further vandalism and weather damage.
Motorists say it becomes increasingly dangerous to drive while the lights are not working.
“The traffic lights in Praktiseer are situated next to a liquor store. When drivers are intoxicated, they don’t observe correctly. I am afraid horrible accidents will happen,” Mr Edgar Thoriso, another resident said.
GTM spokesman Mr Thabiso Mokoena said the traffic lights in town were illegally connected by the contractor who installed them and Eskom had to cut off the electricity supply as they were ‘bridged’.
“We had a meeting with Eskom on January 14, they agreed to switch on the traffic lights, and to put back the meters. We are at an advanced stage to remedy the crisis. We apologise for the inconvenience caused,” he said.
He did not reveal who had done the illegal connection. Mokoena added they experienced cable theft at the lights in Praktiseer and he urged the public to refrain from stealing the cables.
