Load-shedding or not, parts of Fairview have been blanketed in darkness due to defective street lights.
Though the area, like elsewhere in the metro has gone 23 days without experiencing a planned power outage, sections of streets and alleyways are difficult to see in at night.
This includes the portion of Mimosa Avenue extending from the William Moffett Expressway intersection and cutting through Butterfield Crescent, with rows of unlit poles along the busy Restitution Avenue, up to Willow Road and Alan Drive towards the 3rd Avenue dip.
A physical count revealed dozens of defective street lights across several blocks in which there are three major car dealerships.
The area around the Fairview Link social housing project is no exception, turning into a gnawing safety and security concern.
Ward 6 councillor Gerhardus Engelbrecht said the issue needed urgent attention.
“We’ve been reporting this to the municipality for some time,” Engelbrecht said.
“It is a problem across Fairview, with some lights out for up to four years.
“A dysfunctional electricity department is unresponsive to the situation.”
Engelbrecht noted instances where technicians would fix one broken street light but not the next one.
“They are meant to work off the [latest updated] combined list of suburbs and streets my office frequently sends, having noted which needed to be fixed.
“Yet, because they’re using an out-of-date list, previously reported lights fall by the wayside and don’t get repaired once they finally start attending to them.”
Asked whether only Fairview was affected, he said unlit streets spanned the entire ward, including Sunridge, Fernglen, Mangold Park, Walmer Downs, Overbaakens and Pinelands.
“With the overgrown areas in Fairview and Overbaakens, it is essential to have them working.
“Vagrants hide in the overgrowth ... and it isn’t easy to detect someone [lurking] in the dark.
“It has become more difficult to pick up on somebody who’s entered your yard or a suspicious person prowling the streets.
“Criminals target overgrown areas without street lights to hide.”
Fairview Link resident Mzimasi Magwaca said defective lights were a long-standing issue and spurred an inherent risk for pedestrians and motorists after sunset.
He said this created an uncomfortable situation.
“It’s risky for people returning home from work on foot due to no transport at night,” Magwaca said.
“I don’t think these are the right conditions for people to live in, especially in suburban areas.
“Something must be done to fix the lights, most of which haven’t been working for three to four years.”
The municipality failed to respond to a request for comment.
Spokesperson Mamela Ndamase said the relevant directorate had not replied to a media inquiry at the time of publication.
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