UPDATE: Salt Rock Neighbourhood Watch tackles street light repairs

For years locals have raised the issue of poor street lighting – not to mention faulty/broken lights – and the effects that this has on crime.

Now the Salt Rock Neighbourhood Watch (SRNW) is taking proactive steps to shine a little light on this pressing concern.

The watch has marked each street light pole in Salt Rock and Sheffield with a unique number.

Using these numbers, residents can visit their website: www.srnw.co.za, and report faulty or broken lights.

SRNW chairperson Nathalie Struwe said this has always been a priority in their list of ongoing concerns.

“Our concerns about the link between street lights and crime are periodically confirmed by various studies/reports and manuals published,” she said.

Not only have they created a unique reporting platform and ticketing system on the SRNW website, but they have also employed an administrator to collect and collate reports/tickets and to send these reports to KDM at regular intervals – making sure reports do not fall by the wayside.

Struwe cited the City of Cape Town in its ‘design and management guidelines for a safer city’ report, which acknowledged that “good lighting is one of the most effective means of increasing levels of safety and deterring crime.”

Also read: Slow progress for Ballito streetlight repairs

She quoted a widely regarded community-based crime prevention manual by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in insisting that local municipalities work closely with all state and non-state bodies to establish their safety needs and develop strategies to fulfill them.

“The SRNW committee believes that we have found a holistic, practical, long term strategy that can be executed to help address some of the current challenges being faced by both KDM and SRNW.”

This action by the neighbourhood watch comes none too soon. In a disturbing audit conducted on November 7, SRNW concluded that out of the 632 poles that had been numbered: only 321 had working lights.

Struwe said they had documented this and sent a report to KDM as a starting point.

Of course, this strategy requires the participation of residents to ensure its success.

“We need each and every single resident living in Salt Rock and Sheffield to please report any faulty street lights in their street/road by using our reporting system.”

Report faults

To report faulty lights in Salt Rock, simply visit www.srnw.co.za, click on the ‘Street Light Reporting’ tab, complete the details and then click ‘Submit Request.’

Struwe urged locals to keep an eye on the lights and if they are repaired after being reported, to let them know via the same process in order to allow them to keep track of the maintenance and repairs.

You can also also phone the KDM electrical department at 032-4375081.

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