CONSTANTIA | WYNBERG
FRIDAY-QK121119
The Whatnot
www.thewhatnotshoes.co.za
Checkers Centre Plumstead
Telephone: 021 762 3716
genuine leather also available in black
R 749.-TUESDAY 12 November 2019 | Tel: 021 910 6500 | Email: post@peoplespost.co.za
@peoplespostnewspaper
@ThePeoplesPost
People’s Post
Pictured is Angelique Viljoen next to the Ferrari.
The iconic Stellenberg Garden proved a popular destination on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 November when Andrew and Sandy Ovenstone opened their garden to visitors. Members of the public flooded to the seven-acre property at 30 Oak Avenue, Kenilworth, to appreciate the beauty of its eighteenth-century manor house set in lush green surroundings. One of the main attractions was the Walled Garden which turned 30 this year. The English designer, David Hicks, designed the formal garden to celebrate the 25th wedding anniversary of the Ovenstones in 1989. But it seems the gardens had a bit of competition this year. A bright red Ferrari, parked just outside the property’s gates, drew its own crowd of admirers with many a visitor posing for a photograph. St Joseph’s Home for Chronically Ill Children will receive the proceeds raised over the weekend. PHOTOS: NETTALIE VILJOEN
WYNBERG
Roll-out one step closer NETTALIE VILJOEN
T
he wheels are turning, albeit slowly, on the roll-out of the MyCiTi service in Wynberg. Mayco member for transport, Felicity Purchase, has confirmed that a series of public meetings will commence in the new year with affected communities about the placement of stations and stops for Phase 2A of the MyCiTi service. “There will also be meetings with the affected bus and minibus-taxi operators, businesses, residents’ associations and people who live in the area around the routes and whose homes or lives might be affected. A heritage and traffic impact assessment must also still be done,” says Purchase. Phase 2A will connect commuters from Mitchell’s Plain and Khayelitsha with Clare-
mont and Wynberg and will provide muchneeded scheduled public transport for those commuting between Wynberg and the Metro South-east. It is anticipated that the MyCiTi buses will operate in Wynberg by 2027 if all goes as planned, says Purchase. The City says one of the added benefits of the roll-out of the MyCiTi service is the opportunity to provide missing road links that will relieve traffic congestion. The portfolio committee for transport’s proposal that the MyCiTi service operates a direct route between the Metro South-east and the Wynberg public transport interchange (PTI) via Wetton Road – but in mixed traffic (the road reserve is too narrow to build additional right-of-way bus lanes) – was approved by the council in March. At the same meeting, the council also approved the route alignment along Strandfon-
tein Road, Ottery Road, South Road and the Brodie/Main road couplet to the Wynberg PTI. The couplet refers to a set of parallel oneway streets for Wynberg by using Brodie and Main roads to unclog and revitalise the central business district (CBD). A section of Main Road will be turned into a one-way, with Brodie Road accommodating traffic in the other direction. “This road scheme was approved by council in 2002. It is now needed for the roll-out of the MyCiTi service in Wynberg. The couplet will assist with traffic flow along Main Road. It will double the traffic capacity through Wynberg which will improve the travelling speed during peak-hour periods,” she explains. Detailed planning of the couplet has not yet started and tenders for this will go out
early in 2020. Purchase says the City intends to commence with the construction of the couplet as soon as possible, even before the MyCiTi service starts operating. “We are currently investigating whether this is possible,” she says. Purchase, however, says more is needed to address traffic congestion in Wynberg. Ideally, residents and commuters need to change their commuter patterns by either travelling together; working from home; or travelling to and from work outside of peak-hours. “The City has been implementing flexible working hours and remote working arrangements for employees, and we have engaged with the provincial government to do the same. It will help a lot if the private sector can follow suit if they are not doing so already,” she says.