Pretoria North residents are growing increasingly frustrated as cable theft continues to disrupt traffic flow, damage public infrastructure and place additional strain on already stretched municipal resources.

The latest incident occurred at The Poort intersection between the Wonderboom Junction and the Hector Peterson A re Yeng bus station, where traffic lights were left flashing red after electrical cables on the western side of the intersection were stolen.

The theft has forced motorists to treat the busy intersection as a four-way stop while awaiting repairs.

According to metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo, the incident was reported to the metro’s standby team at about 11:00 on July 27, with a technician arriving on site shortly afterwards to assess the damage.

“The metro confirms that the traffic signal failure at The Poort was caused by theft of cables on the western side of the intersection,” said Mashigo.

He explained that an initial inspection identified visible damage caused by the theft, although the full extent of the destruction will only become clear once repair teams begin opening and inspecting the affected cable routes.

“The repair process will include locating and exposing the damaged cable points, completing an estimated eight cable joints, re-concreting the affected cable routes and, where possible, installing concrete slabs over the cables. [This is] to provide additional protection against future theft and vandalism,” said Mashigo.

Motorists may have to wait longer before the intersection is fully operational again, as Mashigo said repair teams are currently occupied with another vandalised traffic signal at the intersection of Rachel de Beer Drive and the R80.

“Once completed, resources will be redirected to The Poort intersection. The completion timeline will also depend on the extent of the damage uncovered,” he said.

The metro also said cable theft and vandalism are becoming a growing concern in Pretoria North.

While a verified annual figure was not immediately available, Mashigo confirmed that seven traffic signal sites in the area have been vandalised or affected by cable theft within the past three months alone.

He added that increasing incidents of theft and vandalism continue to place significant pressure on municipal resources.

“The metro continues to respond to incidents as resources allow; however, the increasing number of cable theft and vandalism incidents places significant pressure on available personnel and operational capacity.

“This presents an ongoing challenge for the city to timeously restore affected services and infrastructure,” said Mashigo.

Ward 2 Councillor Quentin Meyer described cable theft as one of the most serious challenges facing communities across northern Pretoria.

“It is a very big concern for us. We’ve heard that during the last financial year, more than R40-million was spent dealing with cable theft.

“Imagine what that money could have been used for in terms of service delivery, roads, pothole repairs and other infrastructure upgrades,” said Meyer.

He said the impact extends far beyond traffic lights and affects residents, businesses and public safety.

“Burger Street and the roads around The Poort are already extremely busy during peak traffic periods.

“Getting through the area in the mornings can be a nightmare. When traffic lights are damaged because of cable theft, the congestion becomes even worse.”

Meyer added that communities are also suffering from repeated theft of streetlight infrastructure.

“We recently had streetlights repaired in some areas, and everything looked beautiful. Now many of those cables have been stolen again. Without proper lighting, it also becomes more difficult for law enforcement to monitor these areas effectively.”

David Peters, who regularly travels through The Poort intersection, said the situation has become increasingly frustrating.

“Every few weeks there seems to be another problem caused by cable theft. It creates long traffic queues, and motorists become impatient.

“It is dangerous, especially during rush hour when so many vehicles are using the intersection,” he said.

Another resident, Christian Walters, said the cost of replacing stolen infrastructure ultimately affects all ratepayers.

“Residents end up paying for these crimes one way or another. The metro keeps spending money replacing cables instead of improving services. It feels like we are constantly moving backwards.”

To assist with traffic flow and improve safety while repairs are pending, the metro has arranged for OUTsurance pointsmen to manage traffic at The Poort during peak periods.

Motorists are urged to exercise caution and treat the intersection as a four-way stop until the traffic signals have been fully restored.

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