Motorists and pedestrians travelling on the busy Stanford Road between Cleary Park and Windvogel in Gqeberha have expressed relief and joy at the completion of the installation of 11 new solar powered high mast lights in the area by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.
The R3.5 million project which commenced in April and was recently completed has changed what was once a hotspot for vandalism of streetlights into a safer and brighter area recording no vandalism case since the completion of the project to date.
Resident Bradley Mclean said: “I feel much safer now on the road as I ride a motorbike and it sometimes became challenging for the motorists to see. I can see across much clearer.”
On Monday, 12 June 2023, NMBM Electricity and Energy Portfolio Head, Cllr Zanele Sikawuti, conducted an oversite visit in the area as the Metro plans to expand the project in other areas that continue to be negatively affected by the scourge of vandalism and unstable power supply due to loadshedding.
“This project is a first of its kind in our City, the lights are 20-meters high and Stanford Road was chosen because this section of the road was one of the most vandalised sections of road in the NMBM. Millions of rands has been spent over the years replacing infrastructure in this area and within days of replacing the infrastructure we would find the lights vandalised again. So we are very happy that it has been about three weeks now and the lights are still standing giving our residents a safe road to travel on especially since it gets dark early now,” said Cllr Sikawuti.
The benefits of the new infrastructure include the zero maintenance costs of the lights with the solar photovoltaic panels spanning a 25-year linear performance warranty as well as a 10-year product warranty.
“There are zero energy costs involved as the solar lights are powered by the sun so no municipal electrical supply is required. They will not be affected by loadshedding, the lights operate autonomously from the power grid. We are calling on all communities to work with us as we continue to play our part in providing services.
Vandalism of service delivery infrastructure is a huge challenge in our Metro and it needs all of us to work together and fight it. We are planning to roll the project to other areas and we believe that ff erected near clinics, schools, community centres and other important sites, these lights will provide lighting no matter the status of the electrical grid to enhance community safety,” added Cllr Sikawuti.
NMB Communications
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