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With faulty traffic lights becoming a frequent frustration in Nelson Mandela Bay, dozens more have been knocked down by motorists, leaving other drivers to face dangerous intersections and relentless congestion.
A municipal spreadsheet shows 82 traffic lights across the city are out of service, either damaged or knocked down.
The city has 292 traffic lights.
However, a drive around the city revealed that seven traffic lights had been knocked over on Cape Road and elsewhere that were not on the list.
This brings the figure closer to 100, which means more than a third are not working.
Repairing a faulty traffic light can cost anywhere from R100,000 to R200,000.
Technical failures, load-shedding, theft and vandalism have fuelled a maintenance backlog, with some traffic lights remaining out of order for years.
All traffic lights on the notorious R75 between Gqeberha and Kariega, which cuts across various communities, are not working.
Next in line are Cape Road and Stanford Road, with Govan Mbeki Avenue also affected.
According to statistics from the traffic department, 166 accidents and 26 fatalities were recorded on the R75 between April 2024 and May.
On Thursday, a vehicle travelling on the R75 hit one of the broken traffic lights, resulting in the death of two occupants.
Police spokesperson Sandra Janse van Rensburg said a case of culpable homicide was under investigation after an accident at the Spondo Road intersection.
A VW Caddy travelling from Algoa Park towards KwaDwesi and a Renault Kwid collided with each other.
“The driver and the passenger [brother and sister] passed away at the scene.”
They were travelling in the Renault Kwid.
The R75 is managed by the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral), but the traffic and street lights fall under the municipality.
A freeway management system is being rolled out on the R75 and R335 by Sanral.
Sanral spokespeople Lwando Mahlasela and Michelle Ah Shene did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
However, Mahlasela said in May that subcontractor tenders for the R75 would be advertised soon.
“The intention is for the physical work to start in August and be completed by March.
“The operation and maintenance of traffic signals and street lighting rest with the municipality.”
In Cape Road, about seven traffic lights have been knocked over by motorists in recent months, with the majority of the signals in the busy intersections of Stanford Road and Govan Mbeki Avenue also affected.
Municipal spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said the city budgeted annually for a comprehensive traffic signal maintenance plan.
“This ensures that scheduled maintenance and repairs are planned and implemented in line with available resources.
“However, one of the major challenges we face is damage to traffic lights caused by reckless driving and accidents.
“We want to emphasise that reckless driving, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and general disregard for road safety not only endanger lives but also place additional strain on public infrastructure and resources.
“These incidents, which are outside the municipality’s control, create a backlog and result in unintended delays in repairs.
“When new damages occur, they are added to the existing maintenance queue, and this naturally extends the timelines for restoration.”
Soyaya said the metro was compelled to use the approved maintenance plan and allocated budget, which meant that emerging faults and damages had to be attended to in sequence as part of this programme.
A motion that seeks intervention on the R75 was tabled at a safety and security standing committee by DA councillor Gustav Rautenbach on Thursday.
In the motion, Rautenbach raised concerns about broken street lights and traffic lights.
“Most, if not all, of them have been lying broken on the ground for years,” he said.
“The main reason for this is vandalism and cable theft.
“Sadly, it is no secret that the metro has lost the battle against vandalism, copper and cable theft, resulting in carnage on this stretch of road, leading to many fatal accidents and serious injuries, including pedestrians.”
In the motion, Rautenbach proposed that:
- Traffic services officials engage with Sanral to find solutions to the situation;
- An urgent multi-stakeholder engagement is held to address the broken traffic lights;
- The two departments, electricity and energy and infrastructure and engineering, consider installing anti-vandalism traffic light boxes;
- The police, Metro Police and traffic services are requested to increase patrols and law enforcement on the R75, especially at night; and
- A full report on this will be tabled at the next committee meeting.
In a report responding to the motion, safety and security acting executive director Shadrack Sibiya said the city had met Sanral on May 12, which led to a site inspection of the R75.
“[It was] resolved to look at various suggested solutions such as road infrastructure, including traffic lights, barriers and lighting, as well as cameras along that stretch of the road,” the report reads.
“Engagements with infrastructure and engineering and electricity and energy are continuous to address their respective areas [responsibilities].”
The report was tabled for noting in response to the motion.
Reacting to the report, Rautenbach said residents had stepped in to do traffic officers’ jobs by volunteering to safeguard pedestrians and help them cross the road.
“It’s time for the municipality to come on board and assist because they are putting their lives in danger trying to ensure our children, especially, are safe.”
Rautenbach said they wanted the minutes of the meeting with Sanral as proof of what was discussed and the resolutions taken.
DA councillor John Best, who seconded the motion, said the R75 was a highway to hell.
“You are putting your life in danger when you travel on that road.
“If you go onto any of the tracking applications, they warn not to drive on the R75 because it's dangerous,” Best said.
“Residents have opted to use the Perseverance Road, which is now also becoming problematic.
“If you download an application called Daily Accidents, you’ll see about three accidents.”
ANC councillor Mphumzi Momo said he understood the dangers of driving on the R75.
“But we must not be ambushed with this motion.
“We know that whenever we discuss an item with financial implications, we can’t make any decisions without ensuring funding availability.
“We don’t want to raise the people’s hopes that something will be done as per the motion. We need to discuss the motion further so that we deal with it properly.”
GOOD councillor Lawrence Troon said the motion was superfluous and overtaken by events.
“There are volunteers already assisting people. The only thing we can do is to discuss how we will resource these volunteers,” he said.
“The volunteers know first-hand the dangers on that road.
“The acting executive director must look into how they can be trained, resourced and work with whatever Sanral brings to the table so that the issue is resolved.”
Safety and security political head Luyanda Lawu agreed with Troon about the motion being overtaken by events.
“I have raised the issues related to that road with the director of traffic services.
“My office is in Joe Slovo just off the R75.
“Children are hit by cars, and people die.
“What’s important is how we resolve this issue.
“Sanral should take responsibility because, as this directorate, we can’t do as we please there.
“After all, it’s not our road.”
Sibiya said Sanral had confirmed plans were afoot to keep road users and pedestrians safe.
“There was a directive in the motion that we need to meet the infrastructure and electricity directorates, because repairing the street lights would require both of them.
“In our response, we are saying what we have done so far to assist, but repairing the traffic lights is not our responsibility as this directorate.”
Traffic services director Warren Prins said Sanral planned to upgrade the R75, and a budget had been allocated for this.
“There’s also an agreement [with the city] on the process plan as to how this will unfold,” he said.
“Intersections have been created to accommodate the settlements that have mushroomed there, such as Bayland.
“These are contributing factors to the accidents where vehicles end up on the wrong side of the road, but this is an infrastructure department issue.”
Prins said they could assist by monitoring traffic law enforcement to ensure motorists adhered to road rules.
The Herald
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