More than 20 traffic lights out of service at busiest Joburg intersections

About 20 of the busiest intersections in Johannesburg have non-operating or dysfunctional traffic lights, with some out for years.

These include intersections along busy Winnie Mandela Drive, such as at the intersection at Montecasino Boulevard, Witkoppen Road and the N1.

DA ward 94 councillor David Foley said he has escalated the matter to the Gauteng department of roads and transport but his pleas have not solved anything.

“The service from the provincial department of roads and transport is shocking. I even tweeted Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi to say they can do better. They have run out of budget and don’t have money to fix the problem,” he told TimesLIVE.

“Witkoppen Road and Main Road is a challenge because of electricity. Eskom disconnects the traffic light there. City Power made a plan to connect the traffic lights to streetlights but they only work at night.

“Montecasino Boulevard and Winnie Mandela Drive traffic lights have been out for months.

“At Lachlan Road and Main Road the traffic lights were out for a while. This intersection is quite dangerous because only the red light is working. The green and amber are not working and it creates traffic jams every day. I did a survey at the weekend on how many are out and malfunctioning.”

The defective traffic lights are at the following intersections:

• N1 and Winnie Mandela Drive are off.
• Winnie Mandela and Montecasino Boulevard are off.
• Winnie Mandela and Witkoppen under the bridge are not operating.
• Winnie Mandela and Robert Bruce traffic lights are flashing red.
• Winnie Mandela and Broadacres Drive are off.
• Main Road (M71) and Lachlan Road only the red light is working.
• Main and Witkoppen traffic lights only work at night.
• Cedar and Fourways Boulevard are off.
• Winnie Mandela Drive and White Hills Boulevard, where the orange and green lights are on at the same time and three traffic light poles are missing.
• Main and Maple/Ash traffic lights are flashing red.
• Witkoppen and Winnie Mandela Drive are off.
• Cedar and Uranium Street traffic lights are flashing red.
• R55 and Summit/Olifansfontein have not operated for months.
• Witkoppen and Douglas Drive have been off for months.
• Main Road and Robin Road/Sangster Road traffic lights have been off for months.
• Summit and Village Road traffic lights have been vandalised.
• Winnie Mandela and Summit Road have not worked for months.
• Cedar and Third Road have been off for more than a year.

Foley said the malfunctions have an economic impact on the city as it takes motorists longer to reach their destinations.

He said taxis drive on the pedestrian walkway along Winnie Mandela Drive to Uranium Street from Broadacres Drive.

“Cyclists and pedestrians have been injured because of  total disrespect of the rules of the road. When Johannesburg metro police are present, taxi drivers behave, but they cannot be there all day.”

Foley said he would e-mail the Gauteng department of transport and Lesufi about “poor servicing” of traffic lights in the area.

“Many calls have been logged but it seems budget is a problem. I engaged with transport MMC  Kenny Kunene and pleaded that traffic lights in Johannesburg be handed back to the Johannesburg Roads Agency. He said he is talking to the premier. This is the only solution, in my view.

“There are 400 traffic signals in Gauteng and 250 in Johannesburg that provincial government are not looking after. A 14-day turnaround time is not being honoured,” Foley said.

Traffic lights at Malibongwe Drive and President Fouche Road have  been out for three years, while Malibongwe Drive and Mahogany Street have had out of service traffic lights for two years, said chairperson of the Greater Sharonlea Residents Forum, JC Wouters.

One of the biggest issues was easy access to the traffic control box,  which is often broken into by criminals to steal equipment. The control box for Malibongwe and Mahogany was broken into in March 2022, Foley said.

“The department fixed it in September that year but it was broken into again a week later. If you drive to any traffic light in Johannesburg, I guarantee you 70% of the time you can easily open the control box with pliers,” said Wouters.

At Malibongwe Drive and President Fouche Road, the issue was the control box with  “horrendous” wiring and cables patched together.

“The work is not done professionally. Anyone can open up and tamper with the cables and equipment. For years we’ve been fighting with the transport department and have e-mailed them many times.

“Vagrants do mess with the control boxes but it is because they are not secured,” Wouters said.

The Gauteng transport department was approached for comment and this article will be updated once received.

TimesLIVE