Crime and grime in park

Ferndale residents George Veltchev and his father Peter are apparently the only people who clean Ferndale Spruit Park.

“Seven or eight years ago it was a great place,” said Veltchev. “The grass was cut, trees were maintained and people walked their dogs. Now it is a paradise for criminals and people only walk in it to cross through.”

He said City Parks had been neglecting to clean the park or maintain its grass and trees. For this reason he and his father remove litter from the park about once a week.

He said he tried contacting City Parks over the past few years, and has logged multiple reference numbers online, but the municipality had not responded to him.

City Parks spokesperson Jenny Moodley said the grass in the park was cut every 90 days, though Veltchev claimed workers only cut the grass once or twice per year and did not cut the grass at all last year.

For Veltchev the saddest part of the story was that he did not know of any other residents who helped maintain the park.

“This is how our country is,” he said.“The same way we treat people, we treat parks.”

He claimed the lack of maintenance had led to a proliferation of crime in the park, and said he and his father had witnessed drug deals and drug consumption in the park and neighbouring streets. He allegedly once found a 100kg safe in the park.

“I phoned the police everyday and after four days the safe was gone.”

Randburg police spokesperson Johannes Maja said the police had not received any complaints about crime in the park.

Details: City Parks 011 712 6600.