Mayor proposes solution for traffic light downtime

Traffic congestion caused by faulty traffic lights might soon be something of the past as a result of the Johannesburg Roads Agency’s (JRA) new intervention process.

The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) has allocated R6 million to the JRA to replace cabling at traffic intersections as part of the ‘no-join’ policy. This policy aims to replace cables as a whole, and not join them in the event of an electrical fault.

According to the Johannesburg Executive Mayor, councillor Herman Mashaba, until now, traffic light downtime was addressed by simply joining the cables. “Each join in the cabling of a traffic light is an electrical weakness in the circuit. This increases the cable’s vulnerability to rain, electrical surges and lightning. The ‘no-join’ policy aims to reduce the high number of electrical faults at the most critical and high volume intersections in the CoJ,” Mahaba said.

JRA technicians will – in the event of an electrical fault at a cable being reported – replace the the damaged cable with a new one and not join the old ones. “This will start at key intersections in the CoJ. The ultimate goal is to progressively roll out this ‘no-join’ policy on a city-wide scale – starting in the 2017/ 18 financial year,” said Mashaba.

This method will ensure that the city’s traffic network is more resilient to the impact of wet weather conditions, lightning and electrical surges – all of which contribute to traffic light downtime.

He added that, to date, weakness in the city’s transport network and infrastructure is one of the top challenges that’s strangling the potential for economic growth. “CoJ’s 2 135 signalised traffic intersections are vital to achieving the city’s target for five per cent economic growth – providing much needed opportunities for our residents,” Mashaba said.

But, there are a number of challenges that need to be addressed before traffic signal performance can be improved. Some of these challenges include:

– complex electrical and technical issues,

– poor maintenance,

– cable theft,

– accidents during which vehicles crash into traffic light poles, knocking them over and damaging cables.

Mashaba concluded by saying, “We will continue to commit ourselves to effectively utilise our resources to ensure we are creating a traffic system which drives the city forward.”

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