WEEDS have taken over Pinewood Gardens Road in Umbilo, turning a two-way street into a one-way.
Residents along this road have watched the weeds grow into a “jungle”.
Brian Scott, showed Berea Mail a litany of emails he has sent the eThekwini Municipality regarding this issue. “I asked for action last year but we went into lockdown and there was nothing I could do, but now these weeds have turned into trees,” said Scott.
He said the weeds have not been tended to for over six months and residents are forced to do the maintenance themselves.
Scott said tall trees have also become dangerous for motorists.
Pinewood Gardens exits into a T-junction and when the trees are tall, it is very hard for a driver to see oncoming traffic from the right-hand side.
Illegal dumping is another headache neighbours have to deal with.
“There are pathways now leading into the gutters, so people come up here (in our neighbourhood), steal from cars and escape down here,” said Scot.
He and his wife have lived in Umbilo for over 20 years, but they are considering relocating due to the lack of service delivery and crime.
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Alfred Msimang, who lives nearby, also does his bit by cutting the weeds and trees during his spare time.
“It never used to be like this. This place used to be clean, but now it’s becoming a dumping spot. Even if you clean it up, more rubbish gets dumped,” said Msimang.
Ward 33 councillor, Mmabatho Tembe said she has been raising this issue with the city’s Parks, Recreation and Culture Unit for over a year. “There are overgrown weeds in the whole city. It is a widespread problem,” she said.
Msawakhe Mayisela, eThekwini Municipality spokesperson said the relevant unit had been made aware of the issue and will attend to it.
“Please note that as per the City’s grass cutting schedule, grass is cut on a 6-week cycle, 8 times a year. This is done between September and April, the months when grass is most likely to grow faster,” said Mayisela.
“The City would like to cut once a month (12 times) a year, however, the cost to the City and ratepayers would require a substantial increase in the budget, which would have a knock-on effect to the Cities rate base.”
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