Traffic light plan gets a green light in Johannesburg

It’s sadly an all too familiar sight. You are on the way to the office or on the school run in the morning or wearily making your way back home in the evening and the traffic is backed up as far as you can see.

The reason? The traffic lights are either out due to load shedding or broken due to poor maintenance or vandalism.

Tempers flare, accidents happen and missed appointments only fuel the bitterness.

“Why, oh why, can’t things just work?” is the question on everyone’s lips.

Having JMPD officials manning these broken traffic lights at major intersections is a rarity, while Outsurance pointsmen can only be stretched so far.

Unemployed “entrepreneurs” out for a quick buck have taken to directing traffic, but that is a recipe for disaster as it often results in people either failing to trust them or ignoring them altogether.

ALSO READ: Johannesburg to recruit more pointsmen for traffic lights, only Grade 10 needed

In times of need we need solutions.

So, to hear the City of Johannesburg is on a recruitment drive to hire people to direct traffic at intersections in Gauteng is a step in the right direction.

We are the first to admit this is only a short-term solution and more permanent plans need to be put in place to fix these issues.

Admittedly, forking out the roughly R70 million to repair the city’s broken and vandalised traffic lights is not an option right now.

Johannesburg Roads Agency has revealed that “over 98% of the 1 400 uninterrupted power supply units installed at traffic lights in recent years had since been stolen”, which makes it even worse.

These “peace officers” only need Grade 10 or NQF level 2 and a clean criminal record. Successful candidates will be offered a short-term contract and will be paid R110 an hour with no benefits. Seems like a start…

NOW READ: Fixing JRA traffic lights to cost R70 million, over 1 300 UPS units stolen