Dangerous pavements plague Berea following fibre installation

FIBRE installation has left Berea residents concerned as pavements and roads have been dig up to lay cables. For Bulwer resident, Bruce Dickson the biggest concern is the safety of pedestrians along Esther Roberts Road, were several plastic connectors have been planted over the cables. With protruding metal prongs,  Dickson says it is a recipe for disaster.

Dickson has already injured himself while walking on the pavement.
“I wear slops occasionally and walk down (the pavement) without thinking. I lost my toenail because I kicked a piece of uneven concrete that I didn’t see at night,” he said.

Also read: Glenwood community invited to meeting about fibre laying plans

Dickson said the connectors with the exposed metal prongs are planted every few meters around the corner on Cromwell Road.

“There are a lot of people walking here at night and during the day. We also get a lot of runners going past. They wouldn’t see that petal piece and could get hurt,” he said.

“I worked in construction just about all my life and we look at things like this as a potential danger. To me it’s just crazy what they are doing,” he added.

While the pavement poses a risk to pedestrians, Dickson said the rubble from dug up tar is also spilling into the road.

There is also an open man hole with an exposed which poses a danger to pedestrians.

Ward 33 councillor, Mmabatho Tembe said the fibre installation process has cause several problems with service delivery in the area. She said there are several companies that have been contracted and subcontracted to complete the installation process.

“There have been water outages and electricity outages as well as damage to infrastructure. When they dig up the tar or pavement, it’s left uncovered for a long time. I have queried the matter with the municipality to find out if a meeting can be arranged with the fibre company so we can find out what their schedule is and inform residents about the process,” she said.

One of the companies involved is Lightstruck, a fibre supplier. Spokesperson for the company, Lynette Read from said the fibre will bring growth into Glenwood.

Also read:Refuse collection backlog frustrates councillor, residents

“We offered micro trenching to the City which would have been fantastic. It involves a computerised machine. With this method we would not have had to dig trenches. That would have been the answer for Glenwood because it is tar and concrete, however, since we had to go the digging route, the pavements and roads will be reinstated. Where we have reinstated the pavement so far, is in a better condition than it was before. The challenge is that council doesn’t want us to refill at the moment because they don’t want one company to refill and then the next company comes along and digs up again. We have had fibre damaged and it is very sad that people an go to those extremes,” she said.

Henry Pennells of Ficom, a building contractor for Metro Fibre which is also contracted to lay fibre, said the metal prongs  form part of the connection pin which is laced at every second house. 

“Two houses will share from that connection. We plan to have the Bulwer area reinstated within the next three weeks if all goes according to plan. The council require that the reinstatement is vetted by them. If there are any major concerns, we encourage residents to bring it to our attention and we will prioritise it,” he said.

The eThekwini Municipality did not send their comment at the time this article went to press.

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