Katherine and Wierda East: Traffic lights still not working!
Traffic lights at Wierda Road East and Katherine Street remain a cause for public concern.
The intersection outside Sun International at Katherine Street and Wierda Road East remains out of order and a major cause of concern for Sandton local businesses and residents in that area. According to Sun International staff at the intersection’s mouth, the traffic lights have not been working for as long as a full year. A Sandton local took to social media to lament their concerns corroborating the lengthy time of the robots’ not working.
“Traffic light not working for months at intersection of Katherine Street and Wierda Road East, Sandown, Sandton,” said Tweeter OlevCsr, tagging City Power and the Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA) on that platform on August 1.
According to Ward 91 councillor Andrew Stewart, the traffic lights at that intersection have been a problem for some time in part due to the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project that has been waiting for the next phase to begin.
“Over the last 18 months, the lights themselves have been damaged in a car accident and another accident damaged an electricity box across the street. The latest issue with them has been ongoing for about a month or maybe a bit longer,” Stewart explained.
“The issue is that the power supply is Eskom, but the lights themselves are serviced by the City of Joburg (JRA). They often have issues getting Eskom to assist timely.”
According to Stewart, the intersection as such may remain a problem for the foreseeable future. “The broader issue is that the issues with the intersection design are meant to be remedied when the BRT project is finished and the buses are using their dedicated lane. This is the feedback I received after speaking with JRA and the Department of Transport – as they have sent inspectors in recent times to look at the intersection.
“They acknowledged that the intersection is problematic, but [that] the solution is for residents to be patient until the next BRT phase goes ahead, which is meant to be in the next month or so.”
JRA was contacted regarding the matter on August 2. No response was received by the time of going to print.
Related article:
https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/333087/alon-and-rivonia-roads-intersection-is-back-online/
https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/331962/dangerous-traffic-intersections-in-morningside/
