Slow progress, but progress nonetheless to cordon off Melville in bid to fight crime by securing the suburb with boomed gates.
The project now includes a section of West Melville which will now need to gather support from homeowners if it is to be successful.
Melville currently has 36 entry and exit points, making crime reduction in the area incredibly difficult, something the Melville Security Initiative (MSI) hopes to change.
The Melville Safe Streets project falls under the MSI which hopes to cordon off the suburb in a bid to make it safer.
Director and volunteer of the non-profit organisation MSI, Herman Herman de Lange said at a recent community meeting, “There are two areas that we would like to see boomed off with secure entry and exit points for visitors and residents. The aim is not to prevent visitors to the area, but to have structures in place to reduce crime.”
He said the project, which was first launched in 2019 but interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, had received overwhelming support from homeowners. “The east side of the project has garnered extraordinary support. Now we need to do the same for the expanded project to the west.”
The west was added after complaints by some residents that their area was not originally included. The applications will nonetheless need to be submitted separately due to regulations from the City.
Despite local backing, there are some who live in parts of Westdene that are fearful of the project moving ahead as they worry it will devalue their homes when crime is pushed out of Melville.
Danny Nunes who is employed by the MSI said, “There are currently 36 entry and exit points in Melville which makes crime fighting extremely difficult. If this can be reduced, criminals will have a much harder time fleeing the area as security measures and security companies will hamper their activities.”
If approved, a tender will be issued for security companies to bid for the contract to manage the enclosure.
The MSI has 750 monthly contributors from the community which is funding these and other existing security measures. One expense has been a R250 000 traffic impact study that was carried out to see how the road closures would affect the area. “The survey illustrates that the change in traffic behaviour, if implemented, would be manageable and not detrimental to the community,” said de Lange.
Isaac Khan is a suburban solutions expert who has worked on hundreds of enclosure applications in the past, said, “The city is generally in favour of these projects because it reduced the load they have to actively manage. There is less vandalism to state infrastructure, crime is reduced, city workers are not targeted when carrying out their work and obviously, it is helpful to the police.”
Details: Melville Security Initiative www.safestreets@ilovemelville.co.za
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