Parking mayhem and madness at Midas Mall

Potholes, burst pipes and double parking – these are some of the problems shoppers and motorists have to deal with at Midas Mall.

Numerous unsuccessful attempts to address the situation with the municipality prompted anchor-tenant Midas, in exasperation, to contact the Newcastle Advertiser in hopes of getting answers.

“The parking bays are not demarcated and motorists park wherever they want. We were told by the municipality they cannot paint lines because of the state of the road infrastructure,” said management of Midas.

“Loading zones are also not clearly demarcated which results in trucks and delivery vans parking in customer parking spaces.”

Because of this, they say, chaos reigns in the Midas Mall parking lot.

Anees Basha, a Midas employee of seven years said, he was afraid to drive and park his car at the centre because of the high crime rate and rutted roads.

“I’d rather not come in my car to work, than risk it being stolen or wrecked by the potholes,” says Basha.

Mall tenants have had enough

The condition of the parking lot has not only affected Midas but other Mall tenants as well.

Owner of Bonanza Electrical and Lighting confirmed its customers went elsewhere because of the parking area problem.

“The amount of litter that is strewn at the parking lot adds to the list of issues,” said the owner.

Another tenant, Favourite Office National says it needed to charge customers an additional fee for delivery of items purchased, as they could not find suitable parking.

“This has hindered our business with less people visiting the store because of the state of the parking area.”

A burst water pipe near the SARS building, which has been leaking for months according to the Mall’s tenants, has still not been
repaired. “The water flows into the arcade and subsequently into the parking area.”

Doctor Dumisani Thabethe, Head of Communications, said the cause of the leaking pipe at SARS is being investigated by the municipality.

 Criminals target the area

Aside from the state of the parking lot, customers fall prey to criminal activities in the area too.

One customer reported a case of remote jamming which took place earlier this year.

“As I walked away from my car after ‘locking it’, one of the car guards told me it was not locked and I should be aware of remote jamming criminals in the area,” said the victim.

Midas management confirms they spend thousands of rands hiring private security to ensure the safety of its customers. Approximately a year ago, Midas sought after the services of a private security company.

Amos Mavundla, owner of the company, deployed three guards to the area and says before they were appointed, robberies and out of car theft, as well as vehicle theft used to occur often and since their appointment, no cases have been reported.

What the police have to say:

Captain Jabulani Ncube, Corporate Communication Officer for Newcastle SAPS, confirmed no crimes were recently reported in the area, but encourages residents to report crimes immediately should they occur.

“It is important for victims to report crimes, in order for the police to investigate and arrest perpetrators and increase police visibility in the area,” he says.

The municipality responds

In answer to an official media inquiry sent to the municipality, Dr Thabethe said when the building was sold in 2011, the mid-block
parking was set to be redeveloped to accommodate 400 parking bays.

“The municipality acknowledges that such redevelopment has not occurred over a protracted period, due to delays on the part of the developer. However, progress is being made in persuading the developer to redevelop the area without any further delay, since such commitment was made between parties,” he said.

He reports the municipality aims to conclude this development project soon.

“This long outstanding matter is critical to our endeavour to boost business confidence within the CBD without much further ado,” he adds.

“We conclude by emphasising the importance for developers to fulfill their development obligations as agreed to between parties, as an indication of negotiating in good faith.”

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WhatsApp: 082 874 5550

Email: Reveshni Douglas (Editor) at reveshni@caxton.co.za

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