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Tuesday 31 July 2012
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Nine arrested after protests
PROTEST action on Vanguard Drive near Mitchell’s Plain left motorists fuming as traffic was backed up on all major roads in the vicinity. Residents from Sweet Home Farm informal settlement were protesting against poor service delivery, calling for housing and electricity. Nine protesters were arrested for public violence, says provincial police spokesperson November Filander. Protesters burned tyres, set a bus alight and threw stones at oncoming vehicles in Philippi. Peak traffic on Monday morning had to be redirected as protesters blocked off Vanguard Drive near Morgenster and Duinefontein Roads. Traffic was backed up on Baden Powell Drive, Strandfontein Road and Spine Road yesterday. Vanguard Drive had been blocked off from Morgenster Road to Lansdowne Road. Police used tear gas to disperse a crowd of about 500 people. Demonstrators took to the streets in parts of Philippi, Nyanga and Manenberg. Filander says Vanguard Drive, Lansdowne and Duinefontein Roads were still closed at 15:00 yesterday. Golden Arrow spokesperson Bronwen Dyke says a driver was injured after his bus was stoned in Gugulethu. “He suffered facial lacerations because a stone came through the window and hit his face. After the driver and passengers exited the bus, protesters set it alight at 05:30,” Dyke says. The City of Cape Town’s traffic services spokesperson, Maxine Jordaan, says the City has identified certain intersections as highrisk locations due to the ongoing service delivery protest action. Motorists are asked to avoid Lansdowne Road and Stock Road, Vanguard Drive and Duinefontein Road, Vanguard Drive and Weltervreden Parkway and Vanguard Drive at the R300. “Motorists are advised to use Old Strandfontein Road and Baden Powell Drive as alternative routes,” Jordaan says. She encourages people to report protest-related incidents or other emergencies by calling 107 from a landline and (021) 480 7700 from a cellphone.
Bicycle lanes a ‘waste’ LAILA MAJIET
A R20 MILLION project has been labelled a waste of money. The Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) System on Merrydale Avenue and Weltevreden Road is currently under construction and is expected to be complete by February 2013. This was revealed by Mayor Patricia de Lille at a recent budget meeting at the Lentegeur Civic Centre. De Lille says construction on the bicycle lanes and pedestrian walkways started in April this year. However, people living in Mitchell’s Plain say this money would have been better spent on the building of homes for those on the housing waiting list. Ilhaam Dirks from Tafelsig says she has been on the waiting list for 14 years and would rather have government spend more money on housing developments. “This is an unnecessary project. They should be spending these millions on providing houses for us. Most of the people in Mitchell’s Plain use taxis anyway. Very few use bicycles.”
Community worker Bazil Coetzee says the money which could have gone to better use. “”Government wants to implement structures which the people do not need. In terms of the needs of the people in Mitchell’s Plain, bicycle lanes are last on the list.” City of Cape Town officials counter residents’ concerns saying the aim of the NMT in Mitchell’s Plain is to provide and encourage sustainable transport modes in a bid to reduce emissions from cars. “The development of the NMT system is seen as a vital component in the integration of communities, enhancing housing developments and the creation of sustainable communities. People need to walk or cycle daily from their homes to schools, places of work and recreation,” says Brett Herron, the Mayoral Committee member for Transport, Roads and Stormwater. However, a representative of the Mitchell’s Plain Backyarders Association, Terence Hoskins, says government must stop wasting money. “It is an unnecessary expenditure which need not be incurred. The DA is opening up so many parks in the area and
councillors show face when it is time to cut ribbons, but they do not address our concerns. We don’t need parks, we need homes,” Hoskins says. Lizanne Solomons (42) has been on the waiting list for 14 years. She says bicycle lanes are for rich people who have homes. “I live with five of my six children in Eastridge. I am not satisfied with the NMT project. We have been waiting on houses for too long. We will not benefit from bicycle lanes and upgraded walkways. If we ride our bicycles at night, we will get robbed. Our children need a roof over their heads, not bicycle lanes,” Solomons says. Eastridge resident Abeda Laisoothing lives in a garage with her two sons. She says government needs to open its eyes to the needs of the people living in Mitchell’s Plain. “We lose our children to the streets because they do not have a proper place to live. Government needs to invest more money in building homes for people,” says Laisoothing. Similar projects are being rolled out in Retreat, Grassy Park and Plumstead.