Enforcement needed in Overport, says resident
A resident in Juniper Road says the police need to come to the party to issue parking fines and stop drug users in the area.
JUNIPER Road with its constant problem of heavy trucks and traffic congestion has a local resident appealing to city officials to take action. The man, who is also a businessman in the area, said trucks parking outside the rear of The Atrium, together with vehicles moving through the area and stopping on Juniper Road were largely responsible for the congestion.
“Juniper Road is in a mess due to the heavy trucks driving on this road after doing their deliveries to Checkers. There is always a water leak on Juniper Road because the road surface cannot maintain the pressure of these heavy duty trucks driving down it continuously while doing deliveries. It recently took weeks before the leak was fixed. This road is not suitable for this sort of traffic,” he said.
He said there was also a leak in Nelson Road, which had been pumping out water for three days, but nothing had been done to fix it.
The angry resident, who asked not to be named, said a sign prohibiting entry to the road for trucks over four tons had been removed from a light pole at the entrance to the road.
“Metro Police need to do something about this. Three weeks ago Metro Police told me there would be two officers working from 8am to 5pm to patrol the area, but nothing has happened,” he said.
He also pointed out the servitude lane between Juniper and Riley Roads and the nearby park, saying youngsters openly smoked drugs in these locations.
“We seem to be fighting a losing battle. People from out of the area are coming here and buying and smoking drugs. I have been in contact with Berea SAPS about this, but nothing seems to be happening,” he said.
In response to queries from Berea Mail, ward councillor, Jethro Lefevre, said said Metro Police were running a satellite station from his office as and when manpower
allowed for it. “I think it is a bold move and I know that while things may not be hugely improved, I do believe they will improve.”
Lefevre said he would request a meeting with Berea SAPS to see if police would carry out regular patrols through the servitude.
