Increased lawlessness, rocketing vandalism, load-shedding and unauthorised people taking control of busy intersections are among the issues contributing to Johannesburg’s increasing traffic challenges that see the city’s roads regularly congested at all hours.
And as motorists become increasingly frustrated with hold-ups caused by traffic mayhem, so they are embarking on increasingly lawless behaviour — often jumping across intersections in waves of traffic rather than treating it as a four-way stop and each waiting their turn.
This is not something that can easily be stopped or controlled, admitted Joburg metro police department spokesperson Xolani Fihla.
“JMPD officers can only deal with that matter if they are present and they witness it, but it is important for motorists to adhere to the rules of the road, and when traffic lights are not working to treat the intersection as a compulsory stop and give each other leeway to pass,” he said.
Joburg Roads Agency traffic engineer Esther Schmidt said non-functioning robot intersections caused by load-shedding, pole overs, faults or vandalism were having a huge negative impact on road conditions. This was in the form of increased accidents, unsafe conditions for pedestrians, increased congestion and subsequent delays.
The other big challenge is the alarming increase in the theft and vandalism of traffic signals city-wide, including signal-pole cutting and the compound effect of this on the economy.
— JRA acting CEO Louis Nel
She said it was not possible to combat the issue by turning all intersections into traffic circles because they required more space than is available, and the exercise was too costly.
The other big challenge, according to JRA acting CEO Louis Nel, is the “alarming increase in the theft and vandalism of traffic signals city-wide, including signal-pole cutting and the compound effect of this on the economy”.
This is when vandals use angle grinders to chop down robot poles to steal the metal cables inside, or the cables are ripped out of intersection control boxes. In the past four years 2,028 intersections have been vandalised (one out of four of them cut down), with the replacement cost being R28.1m. She said 172 intersections were hit in the past year, and 26 in January this year. Opportunists were able to target more intersections more often as increased load-shedding offered longer periods for criminal syndicates to cut down poles or steal copper wire without the risk of electrocution, said Nel.
He said efforts were under way to curb theft and vandalism by carrying out joint interventions with the JMPD, police and City Power, enforcing the recent six-month ban on the export of copper and copper alloy scrap, replacing metal products with alternative materials and engaging community awareness and involvement in the battle.
Fihla said JMPD officials were “strategically deployed to assist and alleviate traffic congestion, even if traffic lights are working” — which could lead to situations where motorists would be instructed to move against working robots for traffic to flow more smoothly.
“A directive has been issued that JMPD officers have to control traffic daily, especially during peak hours, in the morning and evening to alleviate congestion, and officers have also been tasked to monitor areas outside the peak hours when there is congestion,” he said.
He said officers have also been tasked with removing unauthorised people who are controlling traffic at various intersections and to continue alleviating congestion.
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