
Vodacom and the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) have announced a joint partnership that will ensure traffic signals along major intersections in Midrand, Gauteng remain in operation during load-shedding, becoming the latest property owner to join the JRA’s Traffic Signal Backup Power Initiative.
The partnership is facilitated through a Service Level Agreement (SLA) that will leverage electricity sourced from Vodacom’s adjacent buildings to power traffic lights when the grid is down.
“JRA is inundated with requests from corporates, schools, and even NGOs across Johannesburg willing to partner with the entity in keeping the City’s traffic lights on and most essentially, keeping traffic flowing during load-shedding,” said Joburg MMC for Transport, Councillor Kenny Kunene.
“This joining of hands today with Vodacom as well as the 39 other Service Level Agreements that are in progress, is a positive boost to growing our local economy as less time in congested traffic means more productive time at the office, the factory, and the school.”
3,000 vehicles relieved from load-shedding
Initially, the network operator will provide backup electricity to the traffic lights at intersections near the Vodacom campus in Midrand, specifically on 13th Road and Vodacom Boulevard as well as Lever Road and Vodacom Boulevard.
“Class 3 arterials like Lever Road perform an important network function as they provide connections between the various suburban areas located within Midrand and act as important collectors delivering traffic to the major class 2 arterials such as New Road and the N1 freeway,” said JRA acting CEO Zweli Nyathi.
This will assist in easing load-shedding-induced traffic congestion at these particular intersections and provide relief for between 2,000 and 3,000 vehicles traveling in both directions during morning and afternoon peak hours, according to the JRA.
“Motorists in the area can spend an unnecessarily extended amount of time stuck in traffic because of non-functioning traffic lights in the area. And when people are running late, this hinders their productivity, which, in turn negatively affects our economy,” said Sitho Mdlalose, CEO of Vodacom South Africa.
“Additionally, non-functioning traffic lights can cause a rise in criminal activity, as well an increase in accidents. Through this partnership, we hope to drive efficiency on our roads and ensure the safety of our community.”
To make the backup system work as planned, the JRA has redesigned the signal wiring of the intersections in question which will ensure that Vodacom’s power kicks in with no interruptions when the electricity goes out.
The JRA also took care of all the infrastructure upgrades that were needed outside of the Vodacom campus boundaries, while within the campus, Vodacom did the necessary work.
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