JRA breaks down the cost of fixing signage posts
Gallo Manor Ext 2 Social media user alerted JRA to an inconveniently uprooted signage post.
Circumnavigating around northern Johannesburg can be challenging for visitors to the areas, especially where road signs are vandalised or knocked over, as was the case in Gallo Manor Ext 2 recently.
Thankfully, social media has become a nifty tool for reaching the relevant entities who are responsible for maintaining and fixing mishaps that bear the potential to severely inconvenience residents and business owners, particularly in Sandton.
Gallo Manor Ext 2 hyper-local social media user Charles Smith took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to report that the signage post at the corner of Notwani Avenue and Palala Place had become uprooted somehow.
“@MyJRA, please attend to fallen road sign,” Smith wrote briefly to the Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA) on October 6.
Smith received a swift response on the same day from JRA, indicating that the reference number service request #5402693 had been allocated to the logged complaint, saving motorists and visitors the angst of becoming lost and stranded in the area.
JRA was contacted on October 12, towards gaining more information on the progress of fixing the sign post. The agency’s spokesperson Bertha Peters-Scheepers responded citing the potential for a number of causes that range from as footway/pavement excavations around the signage poles, car accidents, and theft or vandalism of infrastructure.
“At the moment the cause of the signage damage and its uprooting from the ground cannot be confirmed,” said Peters-Scheepers. “The JRA inspected the intersection on October 10. The signage is scheduled to be replaced within 14 working days.”
Peters-Scheepers elaborated on how signage damage impacts the community, as well as the relative cost to fixing damaged road signs.
“Uprooted signage or sign poles that are leaning over can pose a safety hazard to pedestrians along walk-ways; while signage that is removed, knocked over by vehicles or uprooted can cause confusion for motorists,” Peters-Scheepers said.
“Traffic signage materials range from R615 – R964 per unit, depending on the type of sign (i.e., stop, yield, warning signs.)”
It is rare for a traffic sign or street name pole to collapse or be uprooted without damage, Peters-Scheepers lamented in conclusion.
“The quality of the signage and pole materials used by the JRA is of a high standard,” Scheepers said.
“These signs have galvanised poles which can withstand ingress and oxidisation (rust); we complement most of the signage with road markings for visibility on the roads.”
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