Cape Town seeks high-tech solutions to traffic light failure

By Celeste Ganga
04 October 2007

Eskom power outages reduced all traffic light controlled intersections in the City to a four way stop and traffic to crawl, causing substantial financial losses in the transport driven economy in February 2006.

“The City of Cape Town had long been aware of the need to conserve traffic light electricity in general and, in particular, to keep them operational during major power failures and those blackouts provided further incentive to our search for solutions,” says Mayoral Committee member for Transport, Roads and Stormwater, Elizabeth Thompson.

Thompson explains that they constantly urge their suppliers to source low voltage, low maintenance components for traffic lights.

“Replacing conventional light bulbs in traffic lights with light emitting diodes or LEDs, proved extremely encouraging,” says Thompson.

LEDs uses seven times less electricity than conventional light bulbs in traffic lights, while ordinary light bulbs have high maintenance costs that needs to be replaced every three months. LEDs lasts for a minimum of five years.

“To keep all forms of traffic lights functioning during blackouts, 200 uninterrupted power systems (UPS), costing R50 000 each, have been installed at major traffic intersections and more will be installed as budgetary constraints allow,” says Thompson.

The City hopes to install LEDs in all its 1300 traffic-light controlled intersections by 2015.