A FENCE is currently being erected around half of Berea Park in an effort to curb the incidents of crime in the park and on Berea Park Road, which runs across the top end of the park.
Former ward councillor, Chris Pappas, said discussions regarding the erection of the fence started in 2016.
At the time the Parks Department wasn’t taken with the suggestion as it is not city police to fence parks.
He said motivations from SAPS and Metro Police as to the necessity of the fence and how other parks in the city had benefited from being fenced, swayed the department to reconsider its stance and a decision was made to move forward with the project.
“In 2017 the process of planing started and fund were made available from the councillor’s Community Infrastructure Project (CIP) Fund. Luckily, as this happened towards the end of the financial year, Parks had leftover funds available from its budget which allowed us to extend the fence further around the park,” he said.
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The fence will have three pedestrian gates, one near the tennis courts on Berea Park Road, one on the road and one on John Zikhali Road.
There will be one vehicle entrance in Berea Park Road to access the clubhouse and for Parks to gain access.
The fence starts at the tennis club, extends along the length of Berea Park Road and down to the intersection of Stephen Dlamini and John Zikhali Roads.
“The three primary aims are to limit exit points for criminals in the cases of smash and grabs and car theft, and to allow police to apprehend them easier; to create a safer space within the park, as only one side of the park will be open along Stephen Dlamini Road, and to cut down on crime affecting residents in Berea Park Road. The road has some of the highest weekly stats in terms of break-ins and theft of motor vehicles, so this fence is aimed at limiting entrance and exit points onto the road,” said Pappas.
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