Closed off drains cause flooding
It would appear that during the construction of the BRT line in Paul Kruger Street, storm water drains were cemented closed, which caused flooding with this week’s heavy rain.
Monday’s unseasonal rains saw flooding of shops along the route of the B1 bus rapid transit (BRT) line between the city centre and Moot north.
The construction of the BRT system in Paul Kruger Street, towards the Moot and north, saw the storm water drains cemented closed.
This resulted in the flooding of shops and buildings in some areas.
“We have warned metro their planning had been insufficient and no provision was made for storm water drainage system,” said Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesman on City Planning and Spatial Development Siobhan Muller.
The flooding was only part of the woes faced by business owners along the route, some who had already been forced to stop trading while others faced bankruptcy.
Muller said the DA planned on visiting shop owners affected by the BRT route later this week and their problems would be discussed.
According to DA councillor Elma Nel, the dire state of business in the area was due to the metro council ignoring the input during planning phases of the A Re Yeng system. Especially input about parking for customers of the business community and other interest groups.
The flooding just added insult to injury, the DA said.
It is claimed that at an earlier meeting with businessmen a metro official informed attendees the metro wanted restaurants and low-cost housing but no other businesses along Line 1B.
“It would appear that there is a deliberate attempt to force existing businesses out of the area,” said Nel.
The Tshwane metro did not respond to questions regarding the parking problems facing business in the area.
“During construction of the line, all parking for business customers was removed along Paul Kruger Street and the metro police are now targeting customers who park in the area,” she said.
To make the matter worse, Nel said there were no traffic signs visible on Paul Kruger Street that prohibited stopping or parking.
“The traffic fines issued by the metro police are therefore null and void.”
During the construction phase of the B1 line, business owners strongly objected to parking areas being removed in front of their shops.
In meetings, of which minutes were kept, they were however promised that provision would be made for customer parking.
“Yet now, all parking has been removed and pavements were badly constructed, overly wide or simply at an angle where a pedestrian cannot walk,” said Nel.
“A number of businesses have already been forced to close their doors due to the effect the lack of parking has had on them.”
The Gauteng MEC of Transport recently made it clear that no construction of any BRT infrastructure should have a negative economic effect on businesses.
“Who in their right minds takes away stopping and parking from a business?” asked Muller.
She stressed however, the DA supported the A Ye Reng system but the party also supported business, jobs and good spatial planning.
Nel called for immediate mitigation to restore the parking on Paul Kruger Street and said businesses needed to be empowered to trade and jobs needed to be protected.
Also read:
Construction nightmare looming
Lack of parking on TRT construction route affects small businesses
Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram.
- We have exciting news! We’re offering a free alert to help you always be in the loop. Send an email with the word ‘Subscribe’ to breakingnews@rekord.co.za to receive your free daily breaking news update.
