Residents step in to fill Bordeaux South potholes
A burst pipe left Hilma Road in Bordeaux South riddled with potholes, but residents and Ward 102 councillor Bea Campbell-Cloete have now teamed up to fix them.
A burst pipe in Hilma Road, Bordeaux South, has led to an unusual show of community spirit, after residents and their local councillor joined forces to repair the potholes it left behind.
Ward 102 councillor Bea Campbell-Cloete said: “Obviously, this burst pipe has caused a lot of damage to the road, but over time we’ve been reporting the damage. We’ve been reporting potholes and nothing is getting done.”
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The leak was finally repaired about two to three weeks ago, allowing the potholes to dry out enough for repairs to begin. Campbell-Cloete said she had been in talks with the executive of the Bordeaux South Residents Association, who asked her to help fill the potholes after their own reports went unanswered. A date was set, and she arrived with 15 bags of asphalt. “We didn’t know how deep the potholes were, but it wasn’t long and those 15 bags were gone.”
Rather than stop there, residents decided to keep going while the equipment was still on site. Members of the Bordeaux South Residents Association went out and bought a further 40 bags of asphalt to continue the repairs.
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Campbell-Cloete described the effort as a whole of society approach, saying real progress happens when councillors, residents, and residents’ associations work together. “The biggest plus for all of us today is the community knows what they can and cannot do, they know where they can reach me as their councillor so I can come in, bring the equipment needed, and they can continue fixing this area.”
She said the day showed what could be achieved if such co-operation became the norm. “If we have a government that has this relationship with residents’ associations, with the community, then we create programmes where the community can do this without being prosecuted, and that’s what we need.”
Grant Robinson, chairperson of the Bordeaux South Residents Association, confirmed that the community had already said the repairs have already made a difference to road safety in the area. “Seeing the motorists battle, especially on the corner of Ina and Main streets where one way had the right of way, it was actually a dangerous situation.
That’s now been resolved, so the chances of an accident happening there has been reduced a lot now.”
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