Resident complains about allegedly unsafe drains in Greenside
GREENSIDE – The Johannesburg Roads Agency says a team is in the process of repairing these drains with defects.
Greenside resident Charlene Dos Santos is angered about what she claims is ‘unacceptable workmanship’ on numerous drains in her suburb.
“For over a year now the City of Johannesburg has come to lay new concrete slabs which balance unevenly on bricks which is very dangerous. A lot of drains in the area don’t have covers,” said Dos Santos.
Her concern is that a pedestrian or dog might fall into one of these drains after the concrete slabs move following heavy rains.
“We as homeowners are paying so much. Where is our money going for rates and taxes?” said Dos Santos, who has lived in the suburb since 1998.
Dos Santos stated that pavements in the suburb are regularly used by children walking to and from school and residents who walk dogs and exercise in the area.
“The previous contractors used to use metal structures instead of bricks, which were much more sturdy… Safety of commuters should be of utmost importance. We want to be able to walk in our suburb. It’s bad enough that we are stuck behind high walls. It’s wrong that things are deteriorating at such a rate that you can’t walk in your own neighbourhood,” said Dos Santos.
Communications officer at the Johannesburg Roads Agency Mosa Makhalima said, “A programme to repair the defects kick-started initially when the resident lodged a formal request, which is still in progress.
“We always have emergency teams to make safe the dangerous areas with defects.”
She added that the roads agency had requested a meeting with Dos Santos to iron out the issues, but she was unavailable. Makhalima also stated that the operations team is in progress with the repairs programme on all kerb inlets in Greenside.
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