The Johannesburg Roads Agency introduced the solar powered system in 2012, by installing 200 Uninterrupted Power Supplies (a large bank of batteries which store power) and 20 solar panels at intersections within the city as part of its green initiative.
The technology has helped reduce traffic congestion and improve road user safety and traffic flow by limiting the number of faulty signals due to power outages.
However, theft and vandalism have severely impacted the system.
“The deliberate sabotage of the [Uninterrupted Power Supply] and solar power equipment at traffic signals is a new tendency which has escalated over the past few months,” Skhumbuzo Macozoma, managing director of the roads agency said.
“Out of 200 panels, only 52 are operational and the total removal of one solar panel installation was necessitated following its repairs on three occasions. With this latest spate of vandalism, the ongoing viability of providing an alternate power source for traffic signals is currently being investigated.”
According to Macozoma, theft and vandalism of road infrastructure costs the city council millions and is negatively impacting on the service delivery process.
In January, Metro police arrested two suspects for stealing and vandalising the Uninterrupted Power Supply at one of the city’s busy intersections.
The pair was apprehended after they were caught dismantling and stealing the solar powered system on the corner of the M1 and Booysens off-ramp.
In a bid to more effectively address vandalism and theft, the roads agency is developing an Infrastructure Protection Unit which will work more closely with the Metro police, the South African Police Services and other security organisations.
Additionally, the roads agency will launch a community based anti-vandalism project, prompting communities to get involved in curbing deliberate sabotage of the city’s infrastructure.
The public are asked to report all acts of vandalism and theft of municipal property to the City of Johannesburg’s Call Centre on 0860 562 874, the police or Metro police.
