ETHEKWINI’s Parks Department is being called to reassess its greening strategy and investment in the trees of the Berea.
Councillor Chris Pappas said the Berea is known as a green suburb but over the years trees have died or follen over and were never replaced. “The maintenance and care for the Berea forest seems not to be on the list of things to do for the municipality. Trees are not being maintained and pruned and many obscure street lights. One only has to look down any road on the Berea and see how many trees have disappeared. While property values in the area increase, the amenities in the area decrease,” he said.
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Pappas said he had written to the Parks Department for two-and-a-half years, requesting they trim trees obscuring street lights, especially those in Stephen Dlamini, Vause and Bellevue Roads as well as Asherville Grounds which was very overgrown.
He said in addition to the loss of amenity and greenery, the lack of maintenance on the trees posed a safety risk as there were occasions where trees had falled on cars and even pedestrians. “The lack of maintenance also creates problems for home owners who are required to replace electric fencing and walls when trees damage them,” he said.
“The Parks Department needs to look at its strategy. We need dedicated teams to maintain the urban forest. We also need the district department to ensure that the machinery and teams that we do have are working efficiently,” he said.
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