Traffic light downtimes could be attributed to an interrupted power supply, chairperson of the Section 79 Transport Committee, Nico de Jager said.
De Jager added that interrupted power supply accounted for 25 per cent of all downtimes. The Johannesburg Roads Agency said their analysis showed power outages, accidents, faulty cables and recurring faults all added up to arguably a Johannesburg motorist’s biggest frustration.
“The bulk of downtimes are easily salvageable and that is where the agency should focus their immediate attention,” added De Jager.
“The most obvious is streamlining procurement processes, keeping stocks at acceptable levels, increased operational budget, accountability, training of technical staff and uninterrupted power supply from City Power and Eskom.”
De Jager said traffic signals that were not earthed, and historically poor implementation and maintenance practices resulted in even longer downtimes. Cable joints added to faulty cables could also possibly result in a compromised power supply, he said.
Nonhlanhla Nxumalo, the assistant communications manager of Johannesburg Roads Agency, said fault repair efforts would be further enhanced through the employment of additional traffic signal technical staff and closer cooperation with the power supply utilities.
Nxumalo added that a lot of work had been done over the past years in improving the effectiveness of the 2 135 traffic signals across Johannesburg.
“This includes replacement of aging control equipment, cables and earthing,” she said. “These were responsible for the increase in flashing signals during rainy periods. Other pro-active measures introduced were to reduce the human error factor in repairing traffic signal faults, address the poor inspection of traffic signals and improve the pro-active, routine maintenance by technicians.”
The agency, according to Nxumalo, had implemented a traffic signal improvement plan. This would provide more effective service delivery. This plan has helped the agency to meet its target of 90.5 per cent of faults resolved within 24 hours, in October. This was, Nxumalo said, a first in 12 months.
Section 79 committees conduct oversight, ensure that new programmes are implemented, and that departments and municipal-owned entities are held accountable.
“The Section 79 will use its powers to lobby the Finance Department for additional funding to be made available to earth all traffic lights and to embark on a no-joints policy for traffic signals in Joburg,” De Jager said.
