Traffic lights vandalised so often in South Africa they are replaced by stop signs
In several South African metros, rampant vandalism and cable theft have forced municipalities to replace traffic lights with stop signs.
This week, Freedom Front Plus councillor Wesley Jacobs revealed that traffic lights have been decommissioned in Centurion, Gauteng.
He told residents that the traffic signals at the three-way intersection of Botha and Hoffmeyer streets have been decommissioned due to ongoing vandalism.
“It has become too costly to keep repairing these traffic signals due to the constant theft of city infrastructure,” he said.
“This has led to the traffic signal intersection being downgraded and decommissioned to a 3-way stop intersection.”
Replacing traffic lights with a stop street typically leads to increased traffic and frustration among motorists.
He urged residents in the area to comply with the Road Traffic Act and to stop at the provided stop signal.
This is not an isolated event. Many major metros have switched from traffic lights to stop streets due to theft and vandalism.
The City of Ekurhuleni had ceased repairs at certain high-risk intersections due to similar problems.
They spent roughly R120 million in a single financial year on repairs before deciding to de-warrant specific signals.
It explained that the high cost of repairs, which arose from vehicle accidents, theft, and vandalism, has become unsustainable
This has led to the decision to install stop signs rather than new traffic signals in affected areas.
“Although the installation of the stop signs is a temporary measure, some intersections may have the stop signs permanently,” the city said.
The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) faced similar challenges, with over 500 intersections vandalised over a four-year period.
One intersection has been vandalised 14 times, leading the city to eventually replace the lights with stop signs.
Each time it costs around R300,000 to replace the vandalised traffic lights with new ones, which have become prohibitively expensive.
The City of Tshwane has also bemoaned hotspots where controllers and transformers are stolen frequently.
This happened so often that these traffic lights are essentially becoming four-way stops for months at a time.
The city has publicly weighed the cost-benefit of permanent stop signs for rural or remote intersections that lack 24-hour surveillance.
Replacing traffic lights with stop signs has a direct impact on motorists, which includes increased traffic and higher crime.
Residents have raised concerns that stop signs lead to more smash-and-grab crimes and reckless driving.
Vandalised traffic lights
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