Roadworks impact small businesses
This was a concern raised by the Uvongo Ratepayers and Residents Association (URRA) chairperson Hardus Coetzee during the association's AGM held at the Uvongo Library recently.
The roadworks between Shelly Beach and Oslo Beach are hurting the daily operations of small businesses located along this stretch of coast.
This was a concern raised by the Uvongo Ratepayers and Residents Association (URRA) chairperson Hardus Coetzee at the organisation’s AGM held at the Uvongo Library recently.
Coetzee told residents that this was brought to his attention after speaking to businesses that are located along Marine Drive that is currently being rehabilitated.
He explained that the owner of a liquor store told him that on two days last week he did not have a single customer in his store because of the roadworks.
“There is also a restaurant near St Mike’s, his clients tell him that they love his food, his service and everything but they don’t love the traffic. The roadworks are costing the businesses. Sometimes it is understandable for motorists who are sitting in traffic for about 45 minutes, but these businesses are sitting for eight hours per day in their shops and there is no one to talk to,” he said.
In June, the KZN MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Sipho Hlomuka, officiated the commencement of the multimillion-rand rehabilitation upgrade of Marine Drive, from Southbroom to Port Shepstone.
Speaking to Fever on condition of anonymity, these businesses said they have been hard hit by the roadworks with some saying they have been afraid to complain because some people wanted the roadworks to happen.
Some said the wrong time was chosen for the rehabilitation because this season it rains a lot and the heavy rains will slow down the upgrades.
Other concerns included the festive season being around the corner and the traffic congestion that comes with it on Marine Drive.
Also, Coetzee said there were some suggestions that included shorter stretches of the roadworks, ways to solve the flow of traffic by having better control at the entry and exit points.
Meanwhile, Ward 19 councillor George Henderson said Raubex contract manager Pieter Sassenberg assured him that they will finish the roadworks on that stretch in December. He added that completion is always subject to the weather.
“It is a big problem and I feel very sorry for the business people but there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. This week they will start from the Seaslopes Road to the Sasol Garage in Margate and that whole stretch is commercial and industrial, very few people live on Marine Drive. We are very fortunate in our area that we have the best road construction company in South Africa – Raubex,” he said.
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