According to Hart, the grass on the bridge opposite his house has remained uncut for two years.
And the grass along the side of the railway lines is in the same condition.
Hart took the matter up with the metro but, according to him, nothing was done about it.
Eventually, Hart brandished his weedeater and attempted to cut the grass himself, but didn’t get very far.
According to Hart’s wife, Rosalind, the metro was cutting the grass on the opposite side of the bridge.
But when Rosalind approached them and enquired about the offending grass on the other side of the bridge, the workers simply said that they were not instructed to cut that grass.
Michael also mentioned the fact that people are dumping rubbish over the bridge and into the sloots beside the railway line.
Streetlights along Ridley Road have also been broken for a number of months, with some lights even hanging off of their posts.
“I actually think that people in KwaThema have more lights than what we have,” states Hart angrily.
Further along Ridley Road, a tree broke and fell into the road, which was removed from the road after Hart complained about it.
But now, some months later, the tree has yet to be removed from the side of the road.
Hart feels that the long grass, offending tree and broken streetlights all contribute to the depreciation of his property’s value.
He also feels that the long grass is a danger to residents as thieves and hijackers could hide in it.
Themba Gadebe, media officer for the metro, had this to say in regard to the overall state of Ridley Road,
“We confirm that the tree will be removed and in terms of grass cutting programme, the area will be cut and poison will be sprayed by next week.
We’ve already maintained all the streetlights in Ridley Road. Every light is working properly now.”
