Concern over R55 upgrade continues
SUN VALLEY - The Sun Valley Residents Association said it was not against the proposed upgrade of the provincial R55 road, it just had some concerns.
Speaking on behalf of the association, Andrew Dicks said, “While the upgrade of the R55 is long overdue and very necessary, due process has not been followed and certain aspects of the project are not catered for.”
The association believed the authorisation of the upgrade should be overturned until aspects of the upgrade have been attended too. Points of concern raised included the closure of Protea Road, which the association said was unnecessary as alternative routes could be better planned to cater for heavy traffic. He said the Sun Valley community relied heavily on Protea, Horseman and Trotting roads, of which the latter two only had access to Sun Valley from Protea Road. On Protea Road there are also three national equestrian centres.
The association believed the creation of a major intersection at Tamboti Street was dangerous, as the street had a blind bend from the south and there had been many accidents there on a weekly basis.
Another issue raised was that of storm water. “There is a property just below the proposed alternative route that has an attenuation dam that has burst as a result of flooding from the increase in rainwater catchment, as a result of the recent upgrade of the R55 and R562 intersection in 2010,” he said.
Chairperson of Greater Kyalami Conservancy, Kristin Kallesen said the conservancy submitted an appeal to the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development requesting further investigation to be done on the impact of the upgrade. She said, “The proposed PWV5 interchange and linkage into Protea Road and Karee Road would endanger African grass owls which are nesting in the area.”
She expressed that the conservancy “recognises the need for the upgrade and has promoted upgrading existing roads, rather than building new roads such as K56, PWV5 and PWV9”.
