Cape Town - Community activists have welcomed the City’s roll-out of light-emitting diode (LED) street lights, saying it will assist in fighting crime.
The City’s Energy Directorate streetlight upgrade project is making steady progress across the metro following successful roll-outs on main arterial routes in Mitchells Plain, Nyanga and Makhaza.
The latest rollout of the project took the City’s energy teams to Green Point and Sea Point, where over 250 streetlights were upgraded with power-saving LED lamps.
The City replaced the old 150-watt high-pressure sodium with sleek 100-watt LEDs, offering greater efficiency and night time visibility.
The City said it budgeted almost R79 million for street lighting and public lighting, which includes the LED upgrades for the current 2024/25 financial year.
Mayco member for energy, Xanthea Limberg, said the LED street lights are energy-efficient, improve light quality, and have a reduced environmental impact.
“Additionally, LEDs are easier to maintain and less susceptible to vandalism due to their construction,” Limberg said.
Mitchells Plain United Residents Association chairperson, Norman Jantjies, said the upgrade will reduce crimes on the road.
“The upgrading and the installation of street lights will assist us because most crimes are committed in dark places and it will help us to create a safer environment for our community.
“A lot of crimes are being committed in the early hours of the morning and most people get robbed when travelling to work during that time.
“We welcome anything that will help our community to move towards a safer environment,” Jantjies said.
Harare Community Policing Forum (CPF) chairperson and activist, Funeka Soldaat, said: “I hope that this time these LED street lights will work because this is not the first where they will install new street lights only to find out they are not functioning. Another is that Khayelitsha and other surrounding places are dominated by shacks, so even if you can install those street lights, it won't make any huge difference because police vehicles are even struggling to attend to crime-related issues due to congestion in the area.”
Nyanga CPF secretary, Dumisani Qwebe, said the City should make a commitment to maintaining and upgrading street lights in Nyanga.
“The upgrading of these street lights will assist in fighting crime because when they are not working, it becomes difficult to catch those who are robbing people or terrorizing community members when travelling.
“Even drivers in our area become victims of hijacking when street lights are not working,” Qwebe said.
Sea Point ward councillor, Nicola Jowell, said the project was progressing well in the area.
“We are excited to see the new lights being installed that not only increase safety in the area but also have a much lower electricity consumption, which is fantastic.
“This project is being run down the main corridor of Somerset Road Green Point all the way to St. Johns Road Sea Point. The retrofitting project is focused on the main routes throughout the city first and will then move to secondary routes,” said Jowell.
Cape Argus