The city of Ekurhuleni has issued a warning to thieves who target traffic lights, threatening severe consequences if caught.
The issue at hand is becoming more complex, as noted by the city.
City Spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said it must be noted that not all of the traffic signals within the boundaries of the city belong to Ekurhuleni.
“Some of these signalised intersections belong to the province. Traffic signals vandalism is destruction of municipal property without purpose and is costly to the city,” said Dlamini.
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Recently in Germistion, between Victoria Road and Spilsbury Street, four traffic lights were vandalised which affected traffic flow in the evening hours.
When asked how many traffic lights have been vandalised in the past month/quarter/year across the city, Dlamini explained that out of the approximately 1 100 signalised intersections, 70 of them are currently vandalised.
“The province has approximately 230 signalised intersections, of which approximately 80 of them are vandalised. As mentioned before, these numbers are growing.
“The cost depends on the damage caused to the intersection, and it can differ from as little as R15 000 to replace a few poles or signal heads to a few hundred thousand rands to reinstate a completely stolen/vandalised intersection,” said Dlamini.
“Each case is different and is treated on its merit. Sometimes the perpetrators vandalise substations and the signals will not work and that gives them a chance to steal cables and poles.
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“If power supply problems are not solved quickly it increases the chance of theft and vandalism. When lights are off it is usually a power supply problem,” he said.
“Areas that do not have streetlights are also targeted due to a lack of visibility,” said Dlamini.
“Vandalism impacts traffic flow and safety within the municipality. This is a real concern. It is dangerous and there is a risk of loss of life and property, loss of time due to delays, driver frustration, and road-rage, and it creates a bad image of the city.
“It affects the mobility of traffic, it increases travel costs and causes major delays. It also compromises road safety.”
Dlamini said they can only speculate on why the traffic lights are being vandalised.
“Anyone with information that will help us address the vandalism must report it to the police,” said Dlamini.
“It is clear that the intersections on the outskirts of the city, where there are less traffic, are more vulnerable to vandalism. These activities usually happen late at night, or during load-shedding.
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“To prevent future vandalism of traffic lights, the EMPD is made aware of the situation. Security cameras have been installed by private security companies at many of the major intersections throughout the city.
“The city’s service providers are constantly doing scouting, and repairs are done on an ongoing basis. However, this is costly and as soon as it becomes financially not feasible to maintain these signals, these intersections are then converted to all-way stop-controlled intersections.”
Dlamini added that the city is investigating the possibility of entering into agreements with private companies to supply uninterrupted energy supply to some of these intersections.
“There are always plans to mitigate any criminal activity. This is a case-by-case scenario because the cause of the problem varies. There is no turnaround time for repairs of a traffic light.
“The city always tries to repair the intersection as soon as possible, but for those intersections which are regularly vandalised alternative measures will be considered.
“All of the above remains subject to the availability of funds. We will appreciate any support from the community or private security companies who are regularly patrolling their areas, by reporting any sign of vandalism to the police and the EMPD.
“We have an ongoing campaign encouraging the public to report infrastructure vandalism.
“It is a pity that we have to do this when the public should be protecting such infrastructure because it belongs to the people. If we catch you vandalising municipal property, you shall be arrested and prosecuted,” said Dlamini.
