Safety at stadium is a concern

LUCILLE DU PLESSIS writes:

We are an active family and our weekends, especially Sundays, revolve around training, jogging and so forth.

But for the past five months things at Barnard Stadium are not what it used to be and it is rapidly going down and becoming dangerous.

As I understand, it is a place where you are supposed to practice sport but it has now become a local drinking and braaiing spot.

People just camp out next to the fields or next to the road that passes through the stadium and get really drunk with load music booming from their vehicles. Once they are “slashed” it’s time to do some doughnuts with their cars and street racing. I fear for my life when we try to practice there.

But not just that is happening. As we were playing rugby one Saturday a vehicle drove up and parked on the field about 30m away from us. And guess what they were doing. The two love birds decided that it was time to make out and have wild sex in the car.

Kids were playing rugby on the field. And to top it all, another vehicle came and parked on the field about 50m away from us. The driver got out and had a nice long joint (dagga). We could smell it.

About three months ago, we saw the police drive through but unfortunately they just stopped next to one of the picnics and chatted away. So it’s not like the police feel this is some kind of crime.

I know it is a free country and all. Is it then legal to just drink in public? Smoke dagga in public? Have sex in public? Get into your vehicle with your drunk body and spin and dice?

And don’t forget the mess they leave behind. I think we as a community want our sports place back and want the public to know it’s not a local picnic and braai area. There are definitely picnic areas around Kempton where they are more than welcome to have a picnic.

Please police, take some action here.

The metro replies:

Since the upgrading and consequent improved access control at the Dries Niemandt Picnic Grounds in 2010, the uncontrolled invasion of any open space in the vicinity of Barnard Stadium has increased.

In order to protect the sport assets for use by law abiding citizens through the registered clubs, the metro has started fencing all the clubs, playing fields and surrounding amenities in 2012. This process is about 90% complete.

The aim is to prevent these people from illegally invading the sports facilities for activities of their choice, especially after hours when monitoring and control mechanisms are at its lowest capacity.

The unfortunate situation is that they now increasingly use the road and its perimeter to “camp out” and have braais under the trees on the pavement. The metro has engaged with the metro police and police in the past and will do so again.