Many motorists in and around Sandton have been stuck in traffic.
The financial services company Investec is the first property owner to support a project run by the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) and the Sandton Central Management District to obtain generator power from nearby property owners to maintain traffic lights at some intersections in Sandton Central during load-shedding periods.
The generator will provide power to the intersections at Grayston Drive and Rivonia Road and Grayston Drive and West Road South.
Elaine Jack, district improvement manager of Sandton Central Management District, said, “Our work on this project will give some much-needed relief to motorists and ensure Sandton’s roads are safer for everyone.”
She states that the initiative is a fantastic example of what can be accomplished when key stakeholders join forces to tackle the city’s most pressing issues, and they feel privileged that their contribution will make a positive difference for Sandton’s road users.
Acting CEO of the agency Louis Nel confidently said at the launch that they are happy to have partnered with Investec to keep the traffic signals on at one of Sandton’s busiest intersections during load-shedding.
“The JRA continues to find innovative ways to ensure we deliver on our promise to provide smart mobility and safer roads to the residents of Johannesburg.”
He added that many other solutions to keep Johannesburg’s traffic lights up and running during load-shedding have been tabled, but they were either impractical to implement, too expensive, or otherwise too likely to be stolen.
“We want to concentrate on the larger Johannesburg to ensure that at least our major arterials and big crossroads are functional so that people can enter and exit with the least disruption from traffic signals that aren’t working and congestion.”
Investec Group chief operating officer Stuart Spencer said, “Investec is constantly striving to have a lasting positive impact on the communities where we operate.We are therefore pleased to participate in the Traffic Signal Secondary Power Initiative.
“Going forward, during load-shedding, Investec’s generators will power two critical intersections in Sandton, ensuring continuous operation of the traffic lights and alleviating congestion.”
While Investec’s involvement in the project may be viewed as an example of corporate social responsibility, according to Spencer, it also benefited Investec’s customers and workers by reducing time and productivity losses due to prolonged traffic jams caused by power outages.
He said the productivity loss is much higher than what people think as people are a back-in-office organisation, and people sitting in traffic for one to three hours is not productive, not from their perspective, nor an economic perspective, and this type of initiative can help the productivity in the country and address some of the societal issues we face.
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