Chaos reigns in Florida Road
Berea CPF Sector 2 said many by-laws were violated in Florida Road on Saturday night.
AS SUSPECTED, Morningside residents were forced to endure an evening of noisy chaos on Saturday night as Durban July revelry and other party events exploded at various venues along Florida Road and spilled out onto the street.
Ward councillor, Martin Meyer, described the racing calendar highlight as “chaotic” this year saying it was not only experienced in Florida Road, but all over the Berea.
“The city and events organisers showed absolutely no respect for residents. Loud music events were held at Durban Botanic Gardens on 3 July, and on 4 July at Greyville from very early, at People's Park and at Kings Park. More people seem to want to get onto the bandwagon and make their money during the July with absolutely no consideration for residents. And the city happily gives them all permission,” he said.
Meyer said he, like all residents, was not against the July event and the side events, but was against the by-laws being ignored and residents' quality of life being affected. He said local residents' right to peace had been 'trampled' in the early hours of the morning.
“It is this very problem which the motion to council by myself and Councillor Shaun Riley wanted to address, but unfortunately the majority party voted against it, and the result was the chaos of the July this year,” he said.
Meyer said Florida Road was a good case in point. He said he had participated for a while in the Berea CPF Sector 2 and Florida Road UIP's community patrol along the road on Saturday night.
“In the two hours I was there, I observed numerous blatant violations of by-laws. I saw Metro Police officers drive past, not enforcing the laws, and I heard the complaints that there were just not enough officers allocated to Florida Road on the night. Anyone who has lived in this city for longer than a year knows what chaos happens in Florida Road during the July weekend. I cannot understand why enough officers were not allocated. And if officers are tough on the night, and start from early on, moving on people who park on pavements, or just double park, then the news will spread, and people will not violate the law,” he said.
He thanked CPF chair, Grant Smith, and the CPF team for giving up their time to patrol the road, and for trying their very best to control some of the chaos on the day.
“These people are volunteers, doing this for the good of their community with no payment. They patrolled from 8pm to 11pm and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for their valiant efforts,” said Meyer.
Smith said the patrol was part of the CPF's normal weekly patrol, and he had decided to partner with Florida Road UIP due to the influx of people to the Florida Road precinct for the holiday period and the Durban July on Saturday night.
He said the team of volunteers enjoyed patrolling the precinct and was shown a lot of respect by locals who expressed their appreciation at their presence, however it was not shared by all.
“The main aim was to increase visibility within this area and to help with crime prevention. What was very clear was that within this area, the public show little or no regard for traffic by-laws. While trying to keep the lanes open in the early part of the evening, without any support from Metro, we resigned ourselves to the fact that there was nothing we could do and this resulted in absolute chaos. Florida Road became one big parking lot during rush hour traffic at month end. The public also showed a lack of regard for securing their belongings by visibly leaving items of value on the front seats of their vehicles. There were several illegal vendors selling boerewors rolls without any permits, many boot bars throughout Florida Road and smoking of dagga,” he said.
One of the patrollers, Annamarie D'unienville, said: “Music in Florida Road was excessive, I don't even know how to describe the noise levels! Clubs and restaurants were full to overflowing even dangerously so, people were totally drunk and out of control, and very aggressive when confronted with double parking. Side roads were also used as drinking spots, causing a lot of stress for residents. I do think us patrolling made a difference in petty crime incidents,” she said.
Smith said the Berea CPF Sector 2 would welcome any volunteers from the community. Should you be interested, contact Grant on 081 270 4672.
