Delmas Road in the east of Pretoria has been labelled a ‘death zone’ by residents as long-standing infrastructure failures, safety hazards, and worsening traffic conditions continue to place motorists and pedestrians in danger.

Despite being a critical arterial route serving major residential suburbs, including Wingate Park, Elardus Park and Moreleta Park, the road remains neglected, with fatal accidents continuing to occur.

Spokesperson of the community Sub Forum (LS4) Shawn Fouché raised concerns about the deteriorating condition and overall safety of the road.

She said missing road markings, poor or non-existent signage, unreliable traffic signals, uncontrolled speeding, increasing heavy vehicle activity, and severe congestion are some of the daily dangers associated with using the road.

“Since December, accidents on this road have increased. Some are fatal and [others] leave people injured.”

She said many sections of Delmas Road remain completely dark at night due to broken streetlights, leaving motorists driving in near-total darkness.

Fouché said the road safety failures have reached critical levels and are placing lives at risk daily.

“Missing road markings and signage are major hazards. A recent fatal crash is suspected to have occurred because the central island lacked proper signage. Motorists are effectively driving blind in certain sections of the road, particularly at night,” she said.

Fouche highlighted ongoing traffic signal failures at the busy Delmas Road and Barnard Street intersection, which she said significantly increase the likelihood of collisions and traffic chaos.

“The green arrow phases do not allow enough time for vehicles to turn safely. There is currently no dedicated right-turn arrow for vehicles exiting Barnard Street onto Delmas Road, which creates confusion and forces motorists to take dangerous chances,” she explained.

She further warned that severe afternoon congestion, with traffic queues frequently stretching nearly 2km, is pushing motorists into reckless behaviour and increasing the risk of secondary accidents.

“When vehicles are stuck in traffic for extended periods, drivers start taking dangerous chances just to move forward. Some drive on the skirt of the road or the yellow lane, which is a danger to other motorists.”

She said the situation on Delmas Road is made worse by excessive speeding.

“Tshwane needs to plan and place speed humps at different sections of the road. This will deter speeding. Or also place speed traps and cameras, this will help with maintaining proper driving speed.”

Fouché said lately there has been a huge increase in the number of heavy trucks using the route, with many also parking along the road and creating additional hazards by obstructing visibility and traffic flow.

Tshwane metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo confirmed traffic counts were conducted during November 2025 and are currently being assessed to determine whether signal upgrades are required.

“These counts will now need to be assessed and analysed with current signal settings to determine if volumes warrant further adjustments,” said Mashigo.

Mashigo explained that only one right-turn arrow currently exists for vehicles approaching from the northern side of Delmas Road.

“Typically, during the afternoon peak, there are approximately 20 to 25 vehicles in the queue to turn right into Elardus Park. Only once the surveyed traffic counts have been analysed can possible relevant signal setting adjustments be effected,” he said.

He added that the congestion at the Elardus Park shopping centre contributes significantly to intersection backlogs.

“It was also observed that vehicles entering the Elardus Park shopping centre at the circle are congesting Barnard Street to such an extent that vehicles turning right from Delmas Road are not [able] to do so. This causes the backup at the signalised intersection and needs to be investigated further,” he said.

Mashigo said motorists travelling from the northern side of Delmas Road are only able to turn left into Wingate Park via a slipway.

“Coming from the north on Delmas, motorists can only turn left into Wingate Park, therefore not requiring a right-turn arrow. Right turning on Barnard from the north leads into Elardus Park township,” he explained.

Mashigo confirmed that there are currently no dedicated turning arrows for vehicles exiting Barnard Street from either Wingate Park or Elardus Park.

“Once again, the traffic count results will determine if such turning arrows might be warranted in future,” he said.

Mashigo acknowledged congestion challenges along Delmas Road but said major infrastructure upgrades remain difficult to commit to at this stage.

“The city acknowledges the concerns raised regarding the upgrading of Delmas Road. At this stage, providing definitive timeframes remains challenging, particularly given current budgetary pressures and the need to align infrastructure delivery with approved planning and funding frameworks,” Mashigo said.

He explained that a previously proposed duplication of Delmas Road between De Villebois Mareuil Drive and Barnard Street had been linked to a private development proposal that included road expansion plans.

“That development did not proceed, and no subsequent proposals have been submitted to advance the road upgrade on that basis. The city will consider this matter again should future development applications be submitted,” he said.

Mashigo said repeated streetlight outages in the area are largely caused by theft, vandalism, and damage from motor vehicle accidents.

“Streetlight outages around Delmas Road are primarily due to theft and vandalism, as well as motor vehicle accident damage. Theft and vandalism hotspots have been escalated to the TMPD security cluster for increased visible policing,” Mashigo said.

He confirmed that the streetlight restoration project along Delmas Road has been halted due to funding shortages.

“The repairs carried out were based on the operational budget allocated in the region, and additional funding to complete the project of reinstating the streetlights on Delmas Road is being sourced within the Energy and Electricity Business Unit,” he said.

Mashigo added that although a public lighting maintenance contract has been finalised and is operational, the allocated operational budget remains limited, resulting in prioritisation of other major arterial routes.

“The Energy and Electricity Business Unit has prioritised streetlight maintenance on Graham, De Villebois Mareuil and Solomon Mahlangu roads due to current public lighting budgetary constraints,” he said.

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