Lately, to get to the original Fleurhof neighbourhood one has to drive down Nadine Street, past the Roodepoort SPCA and JMPD shooting range and meander through confused motorist’s vehicles on Main Reef Road. Their confusion is caused by the fact that the traffic lights they should adhere to would turn green but never amber or red. Instead, it blanks out after being green. The same issue has been reported by people driving out of Fleurhof via Winze Drive driving straight over to Nadine Street or turning off into Main Reef Road.
Pensioner Edmund Marais says he has become afraid for his safety when he leaves his house to do shopping or run errands.
“This error with the traffic lights has persisted for months despite us having reported it on numerous occasions,” Marais told the Record.
“It is a well-known irritation to the residents of Fleurhof and has caused major traffic jams in the mornings, it has even led to pile-ups and major accidents,” Marais said.
When JMPD spokesperson Edna Mamonyane was approached for comment, she turned the Record away, calling it “a Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) issue” despite questions about how the Metro Police are managing the traffic issues caused by the faulty traffic lights.
JRA spokesperson Bertha Peter-Scheepers, upon learning of the issue, said that it sounded “urgent”.
“We’ll immediately report the situation and send a team out,” Peter-Scheepers told the Record.
“It sounds to be an issue with the globes but I cannot confirm that via telephone, our team will have to investigate,” she said.
Peter-Scheepers owns any delays in dealing with similar issues up to the fact that 1 000 of their employees have been on strike since mid-February.
“They are actually back at work after the strike today,” she said on Monday.
According to the municipality’s service level agreement, traffic light signals that are out or flashing and have been reported to the JRA should be fixed within 24 hours of logging such a complaint. Peter-Scheepers was alerted of it on Monday at 10.25 am.
