The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) has made strides in reducing technical faults in traffic lights thanks to re-cabling upgrades and implementing a remote monitoring system.
However, budget reductions have slowed progress, and power supply issues remain challenging. Eskom and City Power outages affect traffic lights at any given time, increasing during types of load-shedding.
To mitigate this, the JRA partnered with over 40 firms to provide backup power to traffic signals near their buildings, ensuring continued operation during outages.
Theft and vandalism also pose challenges, with hundreds of cases reported.
The JRA urges public awareness and community responsibility to help combat these issues. Working together, it aims to improve traffic signal efficiency and reduce congestion on Johannesburg’s roads.
JRA spokesperson Bertha Peters-Scheepers said vandalism of traffic lights must be reported and monitored.
“The JRA is concerned about the high number of broken or vandalised traffic lights due to a lack of maintenance and vandalism. We urge the public to report any cable theft, people tampering with traffic lights, or trying to break them down to the SAPS or the JRA.
“If the public works with us to ensure the efficiency of our road network, we can stop the destruction of traffic lights and begin to maintain them instead of repairing them because that is one of the main reasons for them not working,” said Peters-Scheepers.
Report traffic light vandalism to the JRA via 0860 562 874 or Email: hotline@jraweb.azurewebsites.net
