To see a sentence begin with the words “traffic lights out on” has become a regular occurrence on Twitter and other social media sites when referring to the state of Johannesburg’s road signalling infrastructure.<\/p>\n
However, despite what you may believe, Johannesburg Roads Agency says traffic signal component faults are repaired within 24 hours.<\/p>\n
BusinessTech queried the JRA on the state of traffic signals in the city. The agency said that it has 2,111 signalised intersections, and 14 technicians to service them.<\/p>\n
When asked\u00a0why traffic lights take so long to repair, the JRA said: “Traffic signal component faults are repaired by JRA in 24 hours. Damaged signals due to accidents and vandalism can take 3 days, the faulty signals over a week and more are power failures and City Power attends to those matters.”<\/p>\n
Eskom’s load shedding has proven to be a headache for all citizens in South Africa over the past several months. “Load shedding obviously switches the signal off. Some components can be damaged through repeated power outage,” the JRA.<\/p>\n
It said that a new traffic light costs around R150,000.<\/p>\n
When asked what it is doing to move away from lights that require electricity in an unstable environment like the country has at the moment, the JRA: “City Power investigates and implements alternative power sources where they see fit. JRA is installing UPS backup batteries at critical signals.<\/p>\n
“There are currently 20 signals powered by solar … but City Power is responsible for power supply matters,” it said.<\/p>\n
Joburg vs Cape Town: Best city challenge<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Fix Joburg\u2019s problems and win R5 million<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n