Clamping down in Ward 23
“I live on True North Road in Mulbarton and I can tell you motorists speed along this road all the time.”
A PUBLIC safety meeting for Ward 23, was held on February 15 at the Thaba Eco Hotel, and was attended by guest speakers MMC Michael Sun, JMPD (Johannesburg Metro Police Department) Chief David Tembe and councillor Sarah Wissler. Also present were Michael Smith (deputy director of JMPD) and Chief Supt Angie Mokasi (JMPD).
Issues raised were excessive speeding, issues with taxis, hijacking in the area, by-law enforcement (illegal signage, loitering, dumping, informal vendors) and JMPD visibility.
Wissler opened the meeting and introduced the guest speakers, with Tembe addressing the public first. “Ward 23 is extremely fortunate to have Sarah Wissler as the councillor and I know what she promises here this evening will come to fruition,” said Tembe. “My background was in emergency services where we saved lives and then later joined JMPD. One thing I can tell you is without the support of the community, the police are nothing.”
Questions were raised from the floor with speeding along True North Road being a top priority as well as on Comaro Street. “I live on True North Road in Mulbarton and I can tell you motorists speed along this road all the time. We fear to exit our driveways as motorists drive so fast. True North Road should be changed to Death Road. I am on the Glenvista High School governing body and it’s a huge worry that our learners have to cross the road to get to school. There is desperately a need for traffic calming measures along this road.
“I promise here tonight for the next six weeks we’ll have law enforcement out there. From Monday we’ll be on True North Road, Mulbarton, addressing speeding drivers,” added Tembe.
Another resident said dumping is becoming a massive problem. “Along Swartkoppies Road and Kliprivier Drive, building and household rubbish is regularly dumped. It’s an absolute eyesore as well as posing a health threat. Tembe said: “I think we should bring back our specialised task team to take care of illegal dumping. I do believe three vehicles were impounded this past week in Ward 23 for illegal dumping. We will address this problem. We can’t impound a vehicle for illegal dumping but we can impound it if it’s not road worthy and many vehicles used for this purpose aren’t.”
Van Beek Avenue, Glenanda, was also brought up by a resident as a problem. “Motorists turn right into Van Beek Avenue across the central reservation from Kliprivier Drive. This is very dangerous and needs addressing urgently.” Smith said it will be looked at and addressed.
A resident of Liefe en Vrede raised concerns about a spaza shop in her street. “The noise levels at this shop are excessive and teenagers gather here from daytime into late at night. I’m also worried drugs could be exchanged here.”
Begging children at traffic lights also came up for discussion. A burning issue among residents is the number of children who beg either alone or with an adult at traffic lights. “This is a huge problem,” said Smith. “If we remove them we have to take them somewhere and where is somewhere? We can’t put a child in a marked vehicle or arrest a child wearing a uniform. This is an ongoing problem with law enforcement and Social Development. If Social Development take beggars in, they can’t keep them for longer than six weeks. Every month there are about 3 000 migrants coming into Johannesburg with nowhere to stay.”
A resident who lives on The Broads raised concerns about the traffic along this road. “Motorists dropping off or picking up their children from a high school and all the other small private schools which have opened in the area, create quite a traffic jam at times. They double park creating havoc and it’s difficult for us to get out of our driveways. There are also many informal traders on the pavement and now there’s even a trailer with gas stoves operating. Where will this end?”
MMC Sun said: “As a resident if you see something wrong report it. In the City of Johannesburg and some of the outer suburbs, CCTV cameras are playing a big part in curbing crime levels. We are hoping to roll-out more of these to other suburbs this year and in years to follow.” He added, “Crime stats are monitored weekly and released monthly. When you raise an issue we won’t just put it down on paper, we’ll address the problem through your local councillor and it will be followed up. Illegal dumping needs to be stopped and we will be doing everything in our power to address this.”
The meeting ended with the residents satisfied the problems in the ward would be looked at.
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