Residents in the east of Pretoria are investigating pursuing legal action against the metro, accusing the city of gross negligence and failing to address ongoing safety concerns along Delmas Road.

The warning follows a second fatal accident within days on the same stretch of road, including a reported hit-and-run incident on the evening of April 19.

Residents say the area has become increasingly dangerous due to poor road safety management and years of unresolved complaints.

Community members claim the road remains a serious hazard because of several ongoing issues, including non-functioning streetlights, excessive speeding, inadequate law enforcement and unsafe traffic conditions.

Residents allege that the stretch of Delmas Road and Barnard Street becomes dangerously dark at night, due to broken or vandalised streetlights, creating poor visibility for motorists and pedestrians, particularly during winter.

They further claim that vehicles regularly exceed speeds of 80km/h on what they describe as a residential route, which is prescribed at 60km/h, while there is little to no visible speed law enforcement or speed camera monitoring in the area.

Additional concerns raised include trucks stopping randomly along the roadside, obstructing visibility and creating traffic hazards, as well as unsafe turning movements caused by inadequate traffic control measures.

Residents complain about the lack of implementation of protected right-turn signal phases, effective channelisation, permanent speed-calming infrastructure or red-light enforcement systems despite repeated requests and previous safety assessments.

The community argues that these conditions have contributed to multiple serious and fatal accidents, damage to property, traffic congestion and growing fears among residents.

A total of 28 crashes were reported at or near the intersection between January 2022 and September 2025.

Concerned resident Marcel Blanc said the safety crisis has been ongoing for years, with numerous warnings allegedly ignored by authorities.

“Looking back at reports, the problem at Delmas and Barnard has been known since the early 2020s, yet meaningful interventions have still not been implemented,” Blanc said.

He added that streetlights are occasionally repaired, raising hope among residents, but often stop working again within weeks due to vandalism or lack of maintenance.

“As residents, we are forced to drive on a road where the danger is no longer theoretical. People are dying, and nothing changes,” he said.

In a formal letter to the city, residents argue that the continued failure to implement reasonable safety measures despite repeated warnings may amount to reckless disregard for public safety, dereliction of statutory duty and possible civil liability under South African law.

He stated that authorities have repeatedly been notified about the dangers through complaints, petitions, documented accident evidence, and legal correspondence.

“Despite this, no meaningful or sustained interventions have followed.”

He said the community is now demanding immediate action, including continuous TMPD enforcement presence, especially at night, the deployment of temporary traffic-calming measures, repairs to all non-functioning streetlights and urgent investigations into recent fatal accidents.

“We are calling for a detailed implementation plan for permanent road safety interventions, including speed control infrastructure, rumble strips, warning signage and a formal road safety audit,” he said.

LS4 Sub-forum spokesperson Shawn Fouché said the recent fatalities occurred under conditions that had already been highlighted to the municipality.

“This incident was not only foreseeable, it was expressly forewarned. The municipality’s continued failure to act has directly contributed to repeated loss of life within a very short period,” said Fouché.

She argued that the city has a legal duty to ensure roads are reasonably safe, maintain infrastructure such as streetlighting and enforce traffic laws effectively.

“The requirements for liability are clearly present. Authorities were aware of the risks, failed to act and hazardous conditions continue contributing to fatal incidents,” he said.

Fouché said residents warned that should authorities fail to implement urgent interventions, they will escalate the matter to provincial and national oversight bodies, pursue legal proceedings and intensify public accountability campaigns.

“The situation has reached a critical point. Further loss of life is no longer hypothetical, it is imminent if nothing changes,” Fouché added.

Previously, the metro said the intersection’s traffic signal timing had been adjusted to improve operations, including extending the amber phase by three seconds and the all-red phase by two seconds.

The city said the accidents were largely linked to driver behaviour, particularly motorists making unsafe right turns without ensuring there was a sufficient gap in oncoming traffic.

Rekord contacted the metro for comment regarding the possible legal action and claims of gross negligence and continued delays in intervention, but by the time of publication no response had been received.

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