VIDEO: Mayor vows to attend to poor ‘visual’ service delivery

Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink says he is aware the metro is not in the best of conditions but vows to attend to poor service delivery.

“Our most immediate task is to fix urban management… get the traffic lights working, fill the potholes and cut grass,” he said.

Tshwane roads and transport MMC Katlego Mathebe said the traffic lights that were not functioning following a motor vehicle accident at the intersection of January Masilela Drive and Atterbury Road would soon be fixed.

Mathebe said the accident wiped out the power infrastructure so there was no power supply to traffic lights at the intersection.

But at the time of the accident, the traffic lights were nonoperational because of the power outage.

The metro has previously blamed nonoperational traffic lights on intermittent power outages such as load-shedding.

“There is no power at the intersection and the traffic signal infrastructure has been damaged due to a motor vehicle accident which occurred while the intersection was without power.

“The electricity department is aware of the outage but is unable to provide a time frame for when supply will be restored.

“As soon as supply is restored, the traffic signal team will have to replace the control box, stubby box and cable, which have been damaged.”

She said the January Masilela and Glenwood intersection was fully functional after repairs.

“The power connection box had been forced open and the breaker switched off.”

She said by November 8, the switch had been turned on and the lights functional.

The drive to repair traffic lights is also behind another to attend to the rising theft and vandalism of traffic lights in the area.

Tshwane said this criminality was disrupting traffic flow.

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Spokesperson Selby Bokaba said in recent months, there had been a sharp increase in the number of traffic lights stripped of parts.

“Some of the parts include transformers and controllers,” said Bokaba.

He said many intersections had nonfunctional traffic signals, leading to long delays and an increased risk of accidents.

“Theft and vandalism of traffic lights is a serious problem that is putting the residents at risk.

“The metro is working to repair damaged traffic lights as quickly as possible, but these crimes are having a significant impact on traffic flow and the safety of both motorists and pedestrians alike.”

He said Tshwane would install security cameras and increase patrols in high-crime areas.

He urged residents to immediately report any suspicious activity around traffic lights to the metro police on 012 358 7095/6 but cautioned against confrontation of the vandals.

“Tshwane is working to raise public awareness of the problem of theft and vandalism of traffic lights through campaigns and different messages via its different communication platforms.”

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