City of Cape Town takes charge of traffic light maintenance on Sanral roads

The City of Cape Town will take over the maintenance and day-to-day operation of traffic lights on key national roads after councillors approved a new agreement with the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral).

The City has been authorised to maintain, operate, and, where necessary, build traffic signals on sections of the N1, N2, and R300 that fall under Sanral's control within the metro.

According to a report to council yesterday, the move is aimed at ensuring smoother traffic flow and quicker repairs, as Sanral does not have the staff or systems in place to manage traffic signals on a continuous basis.

"While Sanral has a mature road construction and maintenance capability, it does not possess the staff, facilities or contractual mechanisms to provide immediate and continuous traffic signal maintenance and operational management, leading to a proposal for the City of Cape Town to perform those functions on behalf of the agency," the report said. 

"The City of Cape Town has four traffic signal maintenance depots as well as contractual agreements for the supply, installation, alteration and repair of traffic signals. 

The roads affected include the R300 between the N1 and N2, parts of the N2 between the R300 and the R102, and sections of the N1 east of the R300.

Though these roads are owned by Sanral, the city said road users experience the network as one system and expect traffic lights to work regardless of who owns the road.

The metro currently maintains and manages about 1,560 signalised intersections across Cape Town. 

Sanral’s network within the city adds another 32 signalised intersections, which need to be synchronised with the City’s system to avoid congestion and knock-on delays.

The report states that faults on Sanral-owned traffic lights often affect nearby City-controlled intersections, making coordinated management necessary.

Under the agreement, the municipality's urban mobility directorate will handle fault reporting, repairs, signal timing and upgrades using its existing depots, staff and remote monitoring systems. 

Traffic signal problems will continue to be logged through the city’s transport information centre.

The metro will also be able to upgrade or install new traffic lights on Sanral roads when needed, using its existing contracts, provided this does not affect municipal service delivery.

The city will fund the maintenance from its operating budget and then be reimbursed by Sanral, while Sanral may be required to pay upfront for major upgrades or new installations.

The agreement will run for 36 months from the date of signature and replaces a previous short-term arrangement between the city and Sanral.

Get your news on the go, click here to join the Cape Argus News WhatsApp channel.

Cape Argus