Access discs are to aid residents

I refer to the letter from Peter Harris, Dec 20, and my own of Dec 13. Unfortunately my earlier letter was shortened, so some explanation was omitted.
Peter Harris said that “The stopping of people going to the beach by issuing access disks to residents of Westbrook Beach and Umdloti is apartheid all over again.”
By omitting the explanation of the reason for the access discs, Peter Harris has assumed something else. Could I ask that you correct this, to clear up the confusion.
Incidentally there are 187 public parking spaces at Westbrook Beach, and these are for beach users – on a ‘first come first served basis’. When these are full, officials stop further traffic from entering North Beach Road – otherwise it clogs up. Residents who live along the road have to wait in the queue to enter. This can take a long time, as cars are let in as another leaves.
The access discs allow officials to wave through residents to their homes, without having to ask a whole heap of questions. There is no fuss, no arguments and certainly no colour involved. Except the colour of the discs! The Westbrook Beach ones are blue, and the Umdloti ones pink, so they don’t even match my socks. People who know me understand that my whole civic life has been to help everyone get along better.
Exactly the same principle applies to Umdloti. Even with a greater number of parking bays, we have found that this system is just as necessary to prevent traffic from seizing up their beachfront.
Both Westbrook Beach and Umdloti don’t have through roads, so when the cul-de-sac is full – that’s it. There is no intention of stopping people from coming to the beach.
Many people get dropped off at both beaches, and special parking is created for buses. By keeping the access roads “open” we are able to deal with emergencies, and there have been times when we have had to take patients to hospital.
GEOFF D A PULLAN
Westbrook