Residents in Morningside have been left in the dark with no streetlights to deter criminals that may target the area.
Vincent Earp ward 103 councillor said the streets are very dark at night and no one can walk there after dark without feeling vulnerable. “The street light budget is quite small and lots of communities request street lights. Members of this community have also requested street lights.”
The Sandton Chronicle drove through the area to view the extent of the problem. It is evident that the lights are urgently needed.
Residents have resorted to installing their own lights in an attempt to alleviate the problem.
Earp made a request in May last year, but has not had a response yet. “It is the City’s responsibility to maintain streetlights. Residents have made the request on five roads in the suburb.
Earp said that crime is high in the area. “That is one of the reasons the suburb has made a road closure application to the Johannesburg Roads Agency.”
Resident Mark Radomsky purchased his property about five years ago and had put in a request for streetlights about 15 months ago. “We were told that there is a current backlog, so we must just be patient.
“To me it is a relatively simple fix to a very real threat, namely that ‘”prevention is better than cure’, and although the provision of streetlights will not in itself eliminate crime, it will most certainly go a long way to reducing it as it makes… it that much more difficult for criminal to go about their ‘business’.”
Radomsky said there has been a spike in crime in Morningside over the past two years. “The area is most certainly not regarded as safe at night which has led to the community engaging CAP as a further security provider. There have recently been hijackings, driveway robberies and theft recently.”
“At the moment the areas which don’t have lights are pitch black at night and you cannot see if someone is lurking in the bushes and on the pavements when you approach your home or an intersection.”
There are only lights on the main roads, and some residents have put up their own lights which don’t work well and doesn’t look great either, Radomsky said.
“In my view, this is a basic [service] which the city should be providing to its residents.”
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Related links:
How to report faulty streetlights in Parkmore
Councillor’s Corner: Spotlight on streetlights
New streetlights brighten up Cumberland
