Residents of Tasbet Park fuming over out-of-order traffic lights

It has been three months since protestors closed off the intersection of Kiepersol Street and the R544 (Bethal Road) in Tasbet Park.

On March 15, protestors were up in arms due to poor service delivery by burning tyres, blocking off the roads, and vandalizing the traffic lights.

Since then two of the traffic lights have been removed completely and destroyed whilst the others are out of order. 

Residents are complaining about the high traffic volumes in peak hours causing chaos without working traffic lights. 

One resident of Tasbet Park, Amanda Campher, said that rush hour traffic in the mornings and afternoons is a nightmare.

“Some of the drivers using the Bethal Road drive without stopping, causing traffic jams in the intersection, as everyone is trying to cross at the same time. I work at the doctor’s office in Tasbet and I make use of that intersection every day to get home. The whole traffic structure there is chaos and a huge risk for motorists,” explained Amanda.

Amanda also stated that because of the lack of functioning traffic lights, road users have reverted to using the two-lane road as a four-lane road causing more backed-up traffic from all directions.

“I dare you to go and sit there one afternoon at 17:00 and see what a huge mess the traffic is,” concluded Amanda. 

Local Ward Councillor, Dumisani Mathaba said that the traffic lights have been reported and that the probability of another strike could determine the time it will take to repair the broken traffic lights. 

“The issue have been reported a long time ago and the response was communicated to technical services. They were concerned about the stability in the ward regarding protests which targets one public asset and therefore the relevant stakeholders must resolve the issues that cause the unrest. If they do not come up with solutions regarding these matters, it will be difficult for them to fix an asset that is a target of public unrest,” concluded the ward councillor. 

With ongoing protests all over the city, it is yet to be determined when these traffic lights will be functioning again. 

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