Unrelenting finger-pointing between government departments continues to delay the installation of the long-awaited traffic signals at the Tiffany’s shopping centre in Salt Rock.

In May the Courier reported that an agreement between the municipality and Tiffany’s management was in the process of being drafted so the shopping centre could go-ahead with the installation of traffic lights.

Both the municipality and SANRAL confirmed that the installation was imminent.

However, Tiffany’s centre manager Nicky Vorster said they were still in the dark on the matter and could not confirm when the robots would be erected as she had not yet received written confirmation from the transport department.

Sanral’s eastern region design planning and construction manager Ravi Ronny said they had received the draft agreement between the municipality and developer on June 3 and provided comment.

“We sent the municipality a draft agreement a while back and await a signed copy, so that they can go ahead with the remedial measures. The hold-up is, therefore, with the municipality,” said Ronny.

However, KwaDukuza’s media liaison officer, Sipho Mkhize refuted this and said at the municipality’s Exco meeting on August 1 that the draft memoradum of agreement for the traffic signals had been approved.

“This decision is known to SANRAL. I do not understand why they would say the delay is on the side of the municipality,” queried Mkhize.

Sanral has slammed back at KDM claiming the municipality was sent the agreement in June and only when the media made contact with them on August 19 did they indicate the agreement had been approved at an Exco meeting at the beginning of the month.

“The municipality did not share that information with us and now they are not happy that SANRAL is blaming them for the delay.

There also seems to be mis-communication regarding an alternative solution that is being considered by the engineer of the developer.

SANRAL will arrange an urgent meeting with the municipality to resolve the issue of an alternative to the signalisation as SANRAL’s intention is that the signals be installed as soon as possible,” said Ronny.

For the past seven years, traffic congestion at the entrance of the Tiffany’s shopping centre has been a nightmare for motorists and the site of many accidents.

Attempts to address the lack of traffic signals at the Tiffany’s/Foxhill intersection has been met with a growing sense of frustration by locals who have been demanding a solution to the congestion issue for almost a decade.

“We are waiting for the written document with the signed permission from the transport department which we were told we had to have before installing robots. If that has come, we look forward to receiving something in writing,” said Vorster.

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