Tinley Manor community unites to fix dangerous beach road

In the wake of the tragic death of a 13-year-old pedestrian, Tinley Manor residents took matters into their own hands last week by clearing the severely overgrown main P467 beach road into the town.

The dense overgrown bush was crowding the busy road, blocking the drainage system and had become a hazard for drivers and pedestrians due to the narrowing of the road.

Despite attempts to get the department of transport to tend to the dangerous road, it was the death of a teenager from Thembeni last month that sparked residents to take action.

Unwilling to wait any longer Tinley Manor’s Gillian Munro along with her trusty gardener, Petros Sbiya, grabbed their chainsaw, bush knives and spades and began clearing the vegetation at 7am last Monday morning.

“The two of us started early and soon managed to cut back the thick brush by four metres from the road side,” said Munro. From there things escalated with the growing of joined hands.

“Local residents Louis Rodrigues, Louis Govendar, Ahmed Kajee, and Richard and Gaydene Eastwood all assisted me with the loan of a TLB machine, a Bobcat, as well as business and household staff.

“Generous personal funds donated from residents added to a task force of around 12 to 15 willing workers under my constant supervision, working side by side with them.”

Munro’s right hand man and long time Tinley Manor resident Dave de Lange also oversaw the operation, making sure everything ran smoothly and lending a helping hand where needed.

The team worked for three days solid under the hot sun, even having to endure ‘wild west’ conditions which included an impatient driver, allegedly a taxi boss, pointing his gun at a flagman directing traffic.

But despite the good work from the community, the lack of help from the transport department left a bitter taste.

“I find it very unethical that our public servants act with such a negligent attitude towards our community, considering the death on this road and the plea I made to the department almost a year ago,” said Tinley Manor resident and Ward 12 committee member, Xavier Singh.

In less than a week the road had been cleared and is now much safer for both pedestrians and motorists to use. All that is left is minor cleaning and spraying poison to ensure no more vegetation creeps onto the road.

However, clearing the road is just the start, as there are reportedly many issues in the little coastal village that need to be addressed.

“Tinley is such a beautiful, fairly quiet and happy little village. We try to stand together to resolve challenges that we all face together, but there are unfortunately still many service and delivery aspects that need to be addressed,” said Munro.

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