After more than 20 years, Jeffreys Bay now boasts a new set of traffic lights to the tune of approximately R135 000 – the only town in Kouga to have traffic lights.
“The traffic lights on the corner of Da Gama Road and De Reyger Street not only have arrows to control traffic flow more effectively, but they also have pedestrian indicators,” said Kouga Executive Mayor, Horatio Hendricks.
“They, furthermore, contain a vehicle counter which will regulate the increase in traffic flow during peak seasons by adjusting the volume from different directions.
“Da Gama Road is one of the busiest roads in Jeffreys Bay and the intersection is pivotal for flow.”
The previous traffic lights have been severely damaged by numerous electrical surges over an extensive period, with the last nail in the coffin being load-shedding.
“The power surges due to the ongoing load-shedding implemented by Eskom have severely damaged the traffic lights,” said Hendricks.
“Due to the age of the traffic lights’ programmable logic controller – more than 20 years – parts to repair the controller were impossible to find. The outdated software, furthermore, posed one of the biggest challenges as technology improves at a rapid speed.”
According to Hendricks, the traffic lights were unfortunately out of service for some time, but it allowed the Kouga Municipality to assess their necessity.
“Research and public polls conducted, clearly indicated that motorists preferred a set of traffic lights and not a four-way stop,” he said.
“Thus, we decided to give local motorists what they want – the best.”
