RESIDENTS in Lovebird Avenue, Mountain View who are frustrated with the lack of street lights, which poses a great safety threat for those who make use of the street daily might have to live in darkness for much longer owing to a municipal bulb shortage.
According to Eugene Gertze who lives in Lovebird Avenue, at least 18 street lights are non-functional in this street.
He further said that he has reported the lack of street lights, which has persisted since before the nationwide lockdown, to the ward councillor multiple times, but it has still not been fixed.
Fortunately, there are no noticeable potholes and no speed bump which could affect vehicles driving on this road at night-time.
The concern in this area, however, is that owing to the lack of inadequate lighting in certain sections of the road, people who make use of this street daily are in danger.
To further add to the concern of residents, one half of the road is filled with houses while the opposite section is an open space with overgrown grass.
“Most street lights in the street are not working. In the morning people wait for taxis in the dark while at night many walk the road in darkness,” said Gertze.
“This road is usually quiet, but owing to the overgrown grass in the open field, it could attract negative elements.”
Apart from the lack of functional street lights Gertze said, there is no real service delivery in the street as no grass is cut, no litter is picked up and the sidewalks are overgrown.
“This area has never been as neglected as it is nowadays, and it is very frustrating. Most residents are not happy with how our area is being treated,” said Gertze.
Ward 49 councillor Franay van de Linde said she has reported the lack of street lights frequently to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.
“The lack of streetlights in Lovebird Avenue has been an issue since before the nationwide lockdown was imposed. I have been reporting the issue with the street’s lights for very long,” said van de Linde.
She said the NMBM informed her that there was a shortage of light bulbs and they could therefore not replace the street lights.
They further indicated that they needed to replace a 250 watt pipeline in the street as the current pipeline was old.
“There are about 20 to 25 bulbs that need to be replaced in this street.
“The municipality has informed me about the shortage of light bulbs, and they are currently working on replacing the 250 watt pipeline,” said Van de Linde.
She said the residents in Lovebird Avenue have informed her about the lack of lights in the street.
Van de Linde further said during her routine sight inspections, she has also noticed how dark the streets are because there are not enough street lights.
She said the issue of lack of functional street lights is not only in Lovebird Avenue, but throughout Rosedale and Mountain View.
“People throughout Rosedale complain about the lack of lights in their streets because it is dark and it is dangerous for people going to work in the morning and coming back at night when it is dark,” said Van de Linde.
After multiple attempts, no comment was obtained from NMBM at the time of going to print on Tuesday, August 18.
