Many motorists and commuters passing through Leeuwkop Road each day, the stretch near Sunninghill Square and Builders Warehouse, had become used to litter gathering along pavements, broken signage, potholes, sewage spills, and informal structures crowding busy corners.

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But on May 20, the area looked noticeably different. Brooms scraped across sidewalks, overgrown weeds were pulled from pavements, and Metro police officers moved through the area inspecting vehicles and dismantling illegal structures as part of a large-scale service delivery operation requested by Ward 93 councillor Vino Reddy.

Reddy said the clean-up was aimed at restoring dignity to one of the suburb’s busiest activity hubs. “In this area, we’ve got lots of taxis, traders, and the area has become fairly run-down and dirty. We arranged for our high-impact service delivery concept to come through to this area to clean up today.”

The operation brought together several city entities at once, something residents do not often see in a single day. JMPD officers loaded confiscated poles from a dismantled trader stall into a van, while volunteer groups and cleaning teams swept roadsides and collected litter.

Also read: City digitises informal traders’ permit application process

JMPD officials also inspected vehicle registrations and issued fines where necessary. At the same time, Johannesburg Roads Agency teams moved between intersections, repairing damaged traffic lights and replacing broken signage along Leeuwkop Road.

Two traffic signals were repaired during the operation, with more inspections expected further down toward Simba.

Road repair teams are also expected to tackle potholes in the area, while Johannesburg Water is set to attend to an overflowing sewage leak that has frustrated residents and commuters.

Reddy said the scale of the turnout showed what coordinated city action could achieve in just a few hours. “The team has just come through, and a lot of work has been accomplished. I hope this can be sustained.”

While these ward-wide operations only take place once every three months, Reddy said the community should make the most of the momentum while multiple departments are available at the same time.

He also thanked Region 8 Crum, JMPD, JRA, Johannesburg Water, and volunteers involved in planning and executing the clean-up.

“Without you, we cannot actually make this area beautiful.”

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