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Route of all evil TAURIQ HASSEN @TauriqHassen
T
he call by Ottery residents to have their road closed has been met with resistance by the City of Cape Town. Melville Road is used as a main route to the Ottery Centre, but the large volumes of foot traffic leaves behind a trail of destruction. Homes are burgled and vandalised, as well as cars, which are also tampered with, drunken brawls break out at night and all residents are asking for is a fence. One resident, who withheld her identity for safety reasons, says she has had sleepless nights after finding men roaming around her home on two occasions last year. Thieves crept through her bathroom window, as well as through an open duct in the ceiling, in the early hours of the morning. “It is understandable that the City does not want to create gated communities, but we are ratepayers and if we all stand together with the same issues, we can get something done,” she says. The resident fumes that the City’s tame response to residents’ requests were not acceptable. “We are talking about our safety; all we are asking a safer environment,” she says. “Is that too much to ask?” A frustrated Adrian Lawrence, resident and street committee member, says the main issue is getting a response out of the City, as requests to cordon off Melville Road continues to pour in. “Crime in our community exists, mainly because there is a lack of access control. All we want is for a fence to be erected,” he says. Lawrence adds frustrations are growing within the community and the volume of foot traffic through Melville Road grows by the day. Residents claim they have still not re-
CALL FOR CLOSURE: Melville Road residents would like to see their road being closed to control the amount of people moving through the area. PHOTO: TAURIQ HASSEN
ceived a response from the City. “We actually don’t know if this will ever happen, because we have heard nothing from the City about this matter,” Lawrence says. However, ward councillor Melanie Arendse says in the past meetings were held to discuss the matter with residents. Acknowledging that frustration levels are rising, she remains adamant that closing the road is not an option. “We understand that residents must be feeling really frustrated, but we need to find another alternative,” Arendse says.
She confirms that a motion calling for alternative measures to be discussed will be forwarded to Subcouncil 18. “This is a major problem for us as we really don’t want to end up losing the ratepayers support because of this. That is why I have decided to forward this motion to the subcouncil; hopefully something can come of this,” she adds. In Southfield, residents have been fighting a similar battle, calling for a fence to close Monty Road, (“Residents stand firm”, People’s Post, 30 January). But subcouncil chairperson Montgomery
Oliver stands firm on the decision that the “Department of Transport, Roads and Stormwater will not allow the road to be closed”. “Everybody should be able to walk through that area and we ( the City) cannot start fencing off public areas,” he says. On the other hand, Oliver understands what residents of Melville Road are going through, but says other options need to be explored. “I understand there might be a criminal element to consider in this regard, but the fact remains, the road cannot be closed off,” Oliver says.