Joburg chooses solar power

More solar-powered traffic lights are on the cards, with the Johannesburg Roads Agency aiming to have 14 pilot sites up-and-running in the near future.
IF the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) has its way, most of the traffic lights in Joburg will operate on solar power sooner rather than later.

JRA MD Dudu MasekoJRA MD Dudu MasekoAt a meeting on 28 September, the agency revealed its intention to have 14 pilot sites operating on solar power in the near future. Given this strategy, various private service providers made presentations on remote monitoring systems for traffic lights and uninterrupted power systems.

The JRA's managing director, Dudu Maseko, did not make the presenters’ jobs easy, as she asked difficult questions about their products and what made them different from those already on the market.

The seminar formed part of the 90-day mayoral Accelerated Service Delivery Plan, which was launched by Executive Mayor Parks Tau earlier this year, and which is drawing to a close. The campaign looks at ways to speed up service delivery, co-opting all municipal-owned entities and City departments to get on board.

To play its part, JRA has been filling potholes, resurfacing roads, repainting road markings, weeding pavements, fixing traffic lights and unblocking drains.

Within 30 days of the launch, eight intersections out of the targeted 40 were already fitted with remote monitoring systems. Some 34 intersections out of the targeted 116 had been fitted with uninterrupted power supply (UPS) devices, and a total of 134 junctions now use LED (light emitting diode) lamps in their traffic lights.

Painting street namesPainting street namesLED lamps are more visible and use less energy, are more environmentally friendly and last longer than conventional lamps.

The JRA is also partnering with the Joburg metro police department (JMPD) to respond quickly to problems. Seven metro police motorbikes and officers have been made available to help roads technicians to get to affected areas as fast as possible.

“When we go on to the site of the reported problem, metro police escorts us so that we get there quickly. And while we work on the problem, they are busy controlling traffic,” said the road agency’s communications officer, Mosa Makhalima.

The JRA is tasked with planning, design, construction, operation, control, rehabilitation and maintenance of the roads and storm water infrastructure in the city. Its responsibilities include the construction and maintenance of bridges, traffic lights, footways, road signage and road markings.