According to Ward 89 councillor, Amelia Bester, who initiated the cleanup, several residents called for a halt of the urban decay in the area around 14th Avenue, which has become a hijacking hot spot in recent years. This is partly due to the fact that a number of vagrants have been able to turn an area around the e-toll building atop the hill around 14th Avenue into their personal playground.
One of the largest contributing factors is the poor upkeep of the area, which is often littered with used condoms, broken beer bottles, women’s underwear, and just general rubbish. Another issue is the storm-water drainage system which is backed up by dirt and overgrown grass, often causing flooding of 14th Avenue during heavy rains.
“When people see how blocked the waterways are, they’ll understand why we’ve had flooding on 14th Avenue during the rainy season in the past two years,” Amelia said.
The clean-up, which was also conducted in the area around the retail section of Constantia Office Park, is only a small part of a large-scale operation to efficiently clean up the areas around 14th Avenue. “As a follow-on to the clean-up, City Parks will remove alien invasive plants and dead trees while Johannesburg Roads Agency and Sanral will tend to clearing the storm-water system,” Amelia said.
According to the councillor, another issue they are pushing for is “the ‘Adopt A Spot’ policy to be simplified to allow for more public-private partnerships across the City”, which could “allow for fencing and placement of security personnel for example”.
They are also petitioning the MEC for Roads and Transport in Gauteng, Ismail Vadi, to improve street lighting, cut the grass on the road’s centre medians, and to put up hijacking warning signs. If you would like to get involved with and sign the petition, contact councillor Amelia Bester on 072 472 4196 or at cllr.a.bester@gmail.com.
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