Fury over pay parking

KwaDukuza mayor Ricardo Mthembu announced this week that motorists will have to pay R6 an hour for public parking bays in Stanger, Shakaskraal, Umhlali village and parts of Ballito including the beaches, from November 1.

Aiming to generate more revenue, the municipality has since put up signs in affected areas with that being the only communication to the public, leaving business owners and affected employees horrified at not being informed or consulted.

UPDATE: Ratepayers call for pay parking boycott

One of the largest affected areas in Ballito aside from the beaches will be the business park on Sandra Road and public bays along Compensation Beach Road.

However, Ballito ward councillors said they had not been informed of the system before it was launched by the mayor.

DA chief whip in the Ilembe region Malcolm Hubner said when the topic of the parking system came to council, it had already been passed.

“We are now trying to find the council documents for when the system first came to council. What we do know for sure is that there was no public participation.”

Owner of Rawson Properties on Sanrda Road, Roelof Faul, said he was enraged about the situation and accused the municipality of trying to squeeze unnecessary money out of ratepayers at a time when businesses are struggling.

Also read: #Crimestats: 10 latest crime statistics in South Africa

“Our vehicles take up about 20 parking bays a day and we have no other place to park our vehicles. This is not good for business as it will push away clients who visit our office. This affects my business and my staff who park outside daily but I had not been informed of KDM’s intention or how this will work.

“When the plans for buildings such as this one was passed, it was known to the municipality that there would be no other option for parking except for the municipal bays outside the offices. All the information we have are the boards that were recently put up outside and that is no way of communicating with ratepayers.”

Owner of the Galley Beach Bar and Grill restaurant on Compensation Beach Road, Mark van Staden said parking during peak seasons was already a problem and that asking people to pay would directly impact on business.

The municipality said that the system had been approved by council in 2011, but not implemented.

Parking marshals employed by the municiality will collect fees using handheld devices. The marshals will scan vehicle licences or manually capture registration numbers, select the duration and tariff charges, provide the driver with a receipt and account for revenue collected.

Drivers will be responsible for displaying the receipt on their dashboard and should customers exceed the time on their receipt, an additional tariff will be charged when they return to their vehicle.

No concessions have been made for employees who park in the parking bays on a daily basis. Privi Naidoo, an employee of HomeZone estate agency in Sandra Road, said she works eight hours a day, 20 days a month, so parking will cost her around R1000 a month.

Also read: Plastic catastrophe on Dolphin Coast beaches: how can you help?

“I am already a ratepayer and the implementation of something like this will further fleece ratepayers. As much as I understand the need for paid public parking in some areas of KwaDukuza, Stanger and Shakaskraal, where there is a huge retail element, the model simply does not work for places like the Ballito business areas.

“What is highly concerning is there was no concession made for long stay parking and the system is prejudiced against people who park in municipal bays for work purposes only. I am also highly concerned that there was absolutely no public participation in this process.”

The largest employer in Umhlali, Roberts & Chaplin accountants, has 30 employees. Owner Neal Roberts said his employees could not afford R1000 a month for parking.

“The council is completely insensitive to the people.

“The employees do not have R1000 that they would otherwise spend for food, to pay for parking to fund a greedy municipality.

“They do nothing for this town and Umhlali is rapidly deteriorating, but they want our money.”

Many Stanger residents took to the Courier Facebook page to complain about the new system. Samantha Sankaran said the system was ridiculous and expensive.

“The roads are terrible all round Stanger and crime still so rife, even the parking in Durban CBD doesn’t cost so much! KDM doesn’t bother about people, just their pockets and how they can milk the public. So many things can be done about crime and the roads in town but nothing ever gets done or completed. Everything is political, so annoying.”

Mayor Mthembu said the paid parking system would help to not only grow the economy but to address the challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality. About 50 jobs are to be created for parking marshals.

“This initiative has been firstly necessitated by a number of concerns that have been raised by the public and it is our key responsibility to ensure that we listen to our people when they speak and it remains our task to deliver on their wishes.”

It is believed that the municipality had paid an external company to manufacture and service the parking devices as well as train the marshals.

KDM has not responded to questions on how much the devices cost and the anticipated revenue income.

>>  Ready to say ‘I Do’ on the Dolphin Coast? Meet the team ready to advise, help and deliver on your big day.

>>  Visit our Education feature for a collection of all the best schools, tutoring systems, and even some colleges and training facilities on the North Coast.

Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 061 718 4438.

Please read our WhatsApp broadcast list disclaimer.
Join us on BBM at 59015786
Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram