The City of Tshwane has repaired over 4,000 street lights in the Pretoria CBD and surrounding areas to improve public safety and urban management.
This work is part of the Tshwane Lighting Programme, which focuses on ensuring better lighting across communities in the city.
Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink, alongside MMC for Human Settlements, Cllr. Ofentse Madzebatela, visited the City’s Urban Management Programme in the Pretoria CBD.
During their visit, teams from Region 3, which includes areas such as Pretoria CBD, Arcadia, Moot, Capital Park, and Atteridgeville, were hard at work fixing street lights, trimming trees, and taking care of waste collection as part of the broader effort to improve urban services.
Public lighting is one of the key priorities for this administration and we are fully committed to increasing illumination levels across all communities in Tshwane. We have teams that are out regularly repairing street lights as part of our Tshwane Lighting Programme.
Yesterday, 4 September 2024, the MMC for Human Settlements, Cllr Ofentse
Madzebatela, and I joined the City’s Urban Management Programme on Francis Baard Street in the Pretoria CBD where various teams were busy on the ground delivering on our promise to prioritise street light repairs and provide other services, including tree pruning and garbage collection.
Yesterday alone, the teams in Region 3 attended to 553 street lights and a total of 329 lights were successfully repaired with the lights coming on. Today, work continues to light up the remaining 224 from yesterday. Region 3 includes the Pretoria CBD, Arcadia, the Moot area, Capital Park and Atteridgeville.
From 1 July 2024 to date, Region 3 has fixed over 4 000 street lights, predominantly in the inner city.
We view the inner city as a strategic node that is home to all Tshwane residents, businesses, government departments and learning institutions, resulting in different groups of people converging in the Pretoria CBD to work, study and conduct business. Equally, major roads such as Francis Baard Street, Es’kia Mphahlele Drive and Nelson Mandela Drive serve as key routes, and it is important that illumination levels are adequate.
As we work towards increasing illumination levels, we must remind our residents that cable theft and vandalism remain challenges for the City. Often street lights are stripped and vandalised a day after we repair them. However, the City is not deterred as we are working on innovative solutions such as using cables with less value to protect our infrastructure.
Our Urban Management Programme has also fixed street lights in Soshanguve, Mabopane, Olievenhoutbosch and Centurion. We will not be distracted by those seeking to stop the progress we are making. We are committed to building a city that works for all its people.
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“Improving public lighting is a major priority for this administration, and we are committed to making sure communities across Tshwane benefit from better illumination,” said Brink.
“Our teams are consistently out in the field, repairing street lights as part of our Tshwane Lighting Programme.”
The focus on street lights comes from its importance in ensuring safety and boosting economic activity.
The Pretoria CBD, in particular, is a vital area for businesses, government offices, and educational institutions.
Well known streets, such as Francis Baard Street, Es’kia Mphahlele Drive, and Nelson Mandela Drive, are crucial for people’s safety and keeping the city moving.
As part of the programme, the city has already fixed 553 street lights in Region 3, and work continues on an additional 329 lights in areas like Pretoria CBD, Arcadia, Moot, Capital Park, and Atteridgeville.
This follows similar work in Soshanguve, where street lights were restored in recent weeks. The city has faced challenges like cable theft and vandalism but remains determined to push forward.
“Street lights are often stripped or vandalized soon after we repair them, but we are developing new solutions, such as using cables with less value, to protect our infrastructure,” Brink said.
The Urban Management Programme is not just focused on the CBD. Other areas, including Mabopane, Olievenhoutbosch, and Centurion, are also part of this initiative.
The goal is to ensure that every community in Tshwane benefits from better services, despite the challenges.
“We won’t let those trying to slow down our progress distract us,” Brink emphasized.
“Our commitment is to build a city that works for everyone.”
-IOL
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