Riverside Park a dumping ground for rubble
THERE has been some debate about whether the Riverside Park is a building rubble dump site or is a development waiting to happen.
After Alan Grant Holdings paid for the road development of the traffic circle on Bryanston Drive, there has been some debate on what happened to the excess building rubble. Residents Heather Oosthuizen, Herman Steyn and Maylene Turner suspect that the rubble has been buried in the park.
Oosthuizen said, “The completion of the traffic circle on Bryanston Drive in early 2013 revealed high mounds of building waste from the road construction and the new shopping centre excavation. Concerned residents have tried to find out why the building waste could not have been carted away to a landfill site. There was also no disclosure to the community of the 3m high building waste left on this natural life-sustaining highveld riverine veld.
“They did so much dumping on that property that they have hidden the river view and even the park is not visible from the road. The safety is compromised and the beautiful river view is gone.”
Bohlale Mohlathe of City Parks said the terrace bordering the park was not 3m high. She said, “The terrace will act as a traffic calming feature and it will help to control traffic and vehicles travelling at high speed. Accidents will be reduced by this terrace.”
Gary Jackson of Alan Grant Holdings said the park was a dumping site before and there had been remnants of rubble. “We have removed as much as we can and we will continue to do so,” he said. “We have used soil from the park as landfill and none of the building rubble that is there was dumped by us. It is rubble that was there prior to the commencement of the park’s development.”
Mohlathe said, “The Riverside Park is still in the process of development and a lot is still going to be done. The park’s development is a long term plan. We need the community’s support and assistance to ensure that the park’s development speeds up instead of slowing down.”
