Construction and poor lighting provides a tricky driving situation outside Gautrain Station

A road user found herself with a burst tyre outside the Sandton Gautrain Station last Monday night when she struggled to navigate the poorly lit street.

Megan Mills was collecting her parents from the Gautrain Station and battled to find the drop-off zone due to the lack of street lights and construction in the area.

“I hit the pavement on the corner of West Street and Rivonia Road. I had turned right across the intersection as I had seen a sign in blue with the letter ‘P’ which I thought was parking for the station. When I see the screen shot of the map now I see I should have continued straight. This resulted in the entire tyre bursting and I had to go to the garage to get assistance in changing the tyre,” said Mills.

“What bothered me most was that it has been three years since I worked in Sandton and now navigating the area is a nightmare. There are no streetlights around the Gautrain Station, no signage and there’s construction all over the place… the corner seems to jut out.

“I don’t know how I could have avoided it. It was scary for me as a woman in the middle of a dark street at night. There were people all over the road at that time. If South African citizens struggle to navigate the area, how will tourists manage?”

Ward 103 councillor, Vincent Earp said, “This area should be well-lit so I sympathise with the resident and will escalate the issue to City Power. The lights should not be out near Rivonia Road, because this is a very busy area and security is paramount for our residents.”

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He did, however, indicate that there is a slipway at the Gautrain Station for people to use to fetch people from the station. He suggested that the complainant write to the JRA and submit a claim for the damage.

Spokesperson for the Johannesburg Roads Agency, Bertha Peters-Scheepers said, “The area as mentioned, Rivonia Road, West Road and Stella Street, is affected by BRT [Bus Rapid Transit] works and private construction. A hotel is also being built in that vicinity.” She added that the JRA is not involved in this project.

Spokesperson for City Power Johannesburg, Virgil James said, “We frequently experience malfunctioning streetlights attributed to most instances theft of the photocells or vehicle accidents. As soon as we become aware of such cases, technicians are sent out to undertake repairs dependent on a call being logged and a works order made out. Safety is always of paramount importance so that we do not have lengths of unlit streets. It does however appear that your complainant is not familiar with the area as she could not even find the drop off zone or see directions because the vicinity of the station is well lit.”

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