East intersection causing traffic headache
The ward councillor says the repairs at the traffic lights are delayed due to waiting for necessary parts that need to replace vandalised or stolen ones.
The ongoing out-of-service traffic lights at the intersection of Pretoria Road (Stanza Bopape) and Cussonia Avenue in Pretoria east have caused significant traffic congestion and frustration for motorists and commuters alike.
The traffic lights near the Pretoria Botanical Gardens have been out of service for over four months, leading to increased congestion and delays during peak hours, particularly for those travelling to and from Silverton and Meyerspark.
According to frustrated motorists the traffic lights have been out of service since October last year, turning a drive into the inner city or the suburbs in the east of Pretoria into a hassle.
WATCH:
Ward 46 councillor Pieter van Heerden said he was aware of the traffic light issue.
According to him, vandalism and cable theft are to blame.
“I know the traffic lights have been off for months now due to vandalism at the electricity feeding kiosk,” said Van Heerden.
He said the delays in repairing the traffic lights immediately was that the city needed to move the kiosk to a safer location.
“For many months there have not been any medium voltage cables needed to supply power to the traffic lights.”
He said the matter has been escalated to the city manager’s office and the department of power in the city.
“As soon as all necessary materials have been delivered, work to repair the robots will commence.”
He could not give an estimated time of repairs yet because they are still awaiting work materials.
“The city is fully aware and working hard to get all the necessary materials to fix the traffic lights,” he concluded.
A motorist, Blessing Gondolo said this issue has not only caused inconvenience and frustration but also poses as a potential safety risk.
“The road is used by taxi operators who sometimes drive recklessly and Tshwane bus services as well causing significant traffic.”
Gondolo said he has to travel to work early because he will spend a lot of time at the intersection as they use a stop-and-go method for traffic flow.
“The municipality has been doing nothing about this issue and their slow response and lack of communication with the public is very concerning because this road leads to too many factories in the east.”
ALSO READ: Planned maintenance to affect water supply in Moot
Do you have more information about the story?
Please send us an email to bennittb@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
