Bluff access road dreamers need a re-think
I respectfully suggest that engineers who are not aware of local conditions are dreamers and that both Councillor Du Bois and the residents have their fingers on the pulse.
EDITOR – A response to the letter from ‘Concerned Resident’ in the 9 November edition of Southlands Sun.
I own the property in front of the stairs.
Strand Road was closed due to extreme erosion as the Bluff is actually compressed dune and the soil is very unstable. What was the road is now scarcely wide enough for two pedestrians to pass (and it was only a single lane). The road would have to be raised to counter the wash and in effect, be a two-lane (as it would be the only access) flying bridge with massive engineering costs and with no financial or practical benefits. It would then feed into Strand or Airlie on a hairpin bend, which is so narrow two cars cannot pass without one having to pull over. You can only imagine the congestion during peak times, or when the access is closed due to overcrowding – which happens every year. Since the town planning changed and houses were built on the edge in the 80’s, it would mean expropriation of three properties there and another 20 to widen Strand to two lanes.
On the other hand, opening a road to just before Treasure Beach would entail extending Foreshore on a flat stretch at the base of the hill at much lower cost, coming up just after Oakland, where the hill height and gradient are less than half that of Strand Road.
As the exit would not run parallel to the hill, wash would be non-existent. This proposal has massive practical and financial benefits. Not only do you open access to a large stretch of beach (currently underutilised due to lack of access) you double the size of the beach area, relieving congestion on the existing beaches. This would allow council to build restaurants and so on, to generate a constant income stream, and place for new braai areas, which people light on the ‘Strand Road’ path, impeding pedestrians, and causing a fire that almost burnt down my neighbour’s house.
I respectfully suggest that engineers who are not aware of local conditions are dreamers and that both Councillor Du Bois and the residents have their fingers on the pulse. I challenge anyone to compare the two options above and come to a different conclusion. The walkway should be raised and slightly straightened like the one at Treasure Beach. This would allow wash to pass below, not impeding the walkway as is now the case. As the stairs are in sight of Brighton Beach SAPS, remote cameras could be installed and monitored with a buzzer top and bottom to alert the station of users, thus stopping muggings and rape. A whale-watching deck could be built just below the pump station as a tourist attraction.
JOHN SWANEPOEL
