ONGOING problems around the park in Dunkirk Road, Glenwood have angered residents and ratepayers who say nothing is being done to address these issues.
Resident Katherine Kruger, and business owner, Dino Constantinou, said they have had enough of the vagrancy and related problems at the park and nearby substation.
Kruger said vagrants have been sleeping, dumping and abusing drugs in the park for the past 10 years.
“The men sleep here, they use the park as a toilet, they inject themselves in broad daylight and they dump rubbish in the park. I saw a child walk into the park to play the other day, but he turned around and left when he saw a vagrant injecting himself,” she said.
Berea Mail witnessed a man carrying rubbish bags into the park, dig through these, and leave the litter lying on the ground before moving off to another part of the park.
Constantinou said: “Five years ago I used to enjoy the sound of children playing in the park, but this no longer happens, it is scary,” he said.
Constantinou recently filmed the area around the substation below the park, addressing the ward councillor, who has helped have the area cleaned in the past. He mentioned the filth and human excrement left by vagrants on the pavement in front of the substation.
“I run a food factory, and right here is human faeces, and flies. We can’t even drive past, the stench is shocking. It should be fenced off, it is a disgrace, especially since I pay my rates. The fence around the park has been destroyed, and it is not even a year old.,” he said.
“I can’t even open my flat windows, the smell is terrible. The vagrants sleep on the roof, they have pulled down razor wire in one section to still be able to do so. They get inside the substation as well, and last week a man lit a fire in a tree by the substation, in howling wind. It is disgusting and we are ‘gatvol’. We can’t carry on living like this,” said Kruger.
ALSO RAED: Ongoing maintenance needed at parks
Regarding the issue, Councillor Mmabatho Tembe said she is aware of the problems the residents are experiencing.
“I have requested Alan Paton substation be fenced as there is human excrement surrounding that substation, and I have asked for the park to be cleaned. I have also requested more frequent drive-arounds with DSW and Parks for affected areas, including this, and these should be starting as we are now in level one, and the departments are able to deploy more staff on the ground,” she said.
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