Dairy trips rip off road, residents demand accountability
Douglasdale Dairy is being called out by neighbours for lack of responsibility after delivery trucks rip off the tar road.
Gary Graham from Water Lee in Douglasdale is complaining about how Douglasdale Dairy trucks leave the tar road in front of his house with big potholes. He said the management of the dairy factory is aware but chose to do nothing about it. He now demands accountability.
“I have had the CEO stand in my driveway here telling me ‘We are going to sort the road out; we are going to change the gate and move it down there so that the trucks do not have to come all the way from up there to make a U-turn here’. It does not happen. The pothole gets so big [with time] that I can park two cars in it. I have filled it up at my own expense with cement and all sorts of stuff just to try to lessen it, but I don’t see why Douglasdale Dairy must get away with this. They blatantly know they are messing up the road and they don’t care.”
He said the dairy factory told him he should approach the city council. “But that is not the problem. The problem is that their trucks are the ones doing this because the road has already been repaired four to five times by the JRA but to get them to come out, it takes them about a year, and in the meantime, I had to fill the road with cement. And then it happens again.”
Graham took a video and sent it to the chief executive officer of the factory, Rob Word explaining his pain. He said he had to wait at least four days to get a reply which left him puzzled.
“His response was ‘Can you please help us get the JRA to fix the road’ but that is not the problem. They know it is going to take a year to get the JRA to come and fix the road. We know what the states of the road are like. He does not care, he is just putting the blame on JRA In the meantime, his trucks are the ones that are damaging the road. He told us he is going to move the gate and then do this and that but two; or three years later we are in the same boat, and nothing happens.”
He said he was so fed that one time that he decided to block the road with two cars so that the trucks could not come on the wrong side of the road, “I was making it difficult for them to get into that gate so that they can do something about it. They did not care; I do not know what to do anymore because I have tried everything in my power to try but they do not care.”
Amber Thomson, the marketing manager for Douglasdale Dairy responded that Douglasdale Dairy has two main entrances, of which the entrance Gary is referring to is used to allow the following access onto the property:
• Raw Milk Tankers
• School Tours
• Soccer Training
This road is also used by all the residents who live on Waterloo Road, Uitsig Road, Akkerboom Road as well as Harrison Avenue.
“At Douglasdale Dairy, we offer school tours to the community, free of charge. This provides a fun day out for the children, where they are educated on the milk production process and the health benefits thereof. The children are dressed up in mini lab coats and hair nets, where they are then taken around the facility, and allowed to play and enjoy the many different activities we have on the property (jungle gyms, swings, soccer nets, netball, colouring in and so on). Each child is also given milk and Douglasdale branded drinking glasses on the day,” said Amber Thomson, marketing manager for the dairy.
The school tours are limited to 30 pax per day however that is often exceeded, resulting in Putco busses arriving and having an average of 350 children through the gates every week.
“Kenny Mariness, owner of Starlet School of Excellence Soccer School also coaches from our soccer field facility free of charge from Monday to Saturday. Kenny also gives back to the community by coaching a team from Cosmo City, Diepsloot, Thembisa, Lenasia and Windsor East/West every week as well as our very own in-house team.”
Thomson confirmed that the dairy was aware of Graham’s complaints. “Over some time now, we have been in contact with Gary. We have offered to repair the pothole ourselves, however, we have been advised by the JRA that it is illegal to do so without permission. We have logged a number of complaints with the JRA to try to resolve this. About three months ago the JRA came out and fixed the potholes on Sloane St and the top section of Waterloo Rd but for some unknown reason did not make it to Uitsig Road. We have continued to log complaints with the JRA. The latest reference number we have is PP61640.
Thomson says that they are investigating several options that will be a long-term, viable solution that will allow them to keep the entrance to the soccer field open, so they can continue to provide this facility to the community.
No solution fixes the existing pothole that we have, so we are hoping with you on board, this pothole will be highlighted and either the JRA will come and repair it or permit us to do so.
JRA was contacted to confirm whether they know of the issue, and how long it would take to repair. Their response will be published as soon as it’s available.
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