RESIDENTS living in Riley Road are fed up after their road has been left dug up and difficult to drive on due to work done by the municipality on water pipes in Essenwood Road. According to frustrated Riley Road resident Deborah Hall-Chadrou, the road was dug up in 2021 to install new water pipes along the entire length of the road – due to several burst pipes in the road.
“At that time, they installed temporary pipes to each property and left us with a half-dug-up road. During the floods and every heavy rainstorm, the fill washed away, was refilled at night, and repeat! Eventually, in November last year, they connected the one side to the mains. Still today, the side with even numbers is being fed by the temporary black pipes. The cold water comes out hot in this searing temperature, as the pipes are surface-mounted,” said Hall-Chadrou.
She describes the road as a mess. “We have been told to park on the right-hand side to allow traffic to drive on the smooth section. Via our street WhatsApp groups, we have asked the various councillors to request action on our behalf, but to no avail. We are so frustrated to be enduring this situation and hope that action will soon be taken.”
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Another resident on the road, Pina van Rensburg, says the residents living in Riley Road have been patient for 13 long months, but now they are completely at their wits’ end. “The road is a pitiful sight and a complete embarrassment to those who visit it. Residents are unable to go for their walks, children are unable to ride their bikes and skateboards, and we are unable to walk our dogs. Never mind the wear and tear on our vehicles. As law-abiding citizens and ratepayers, we deserve to be living in a respectable area and should be proud to live in our neighbourhood.”
Riley Road’s Raeesah Khan says there has been little to no improvement from the time the roadworks began. “These temporary actions are a waste of taxpayers’ money, and it is quite shocking about the ridiculously high rates that residents in the area pay. Engagements with the councillor have been fruitless as we have been told that the municipality has no budget to complete the undertaken project. Residents are frustrated by the lack of service delivery.”
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New to the road, Noel Moodley says the state of things is terrible. “When I put in an offer to buy property on this road in December 2021, it was a lovely tarred road. But when we took occupancy in August 2022, we were horrified at the disrepair and lack of interest shown by the municipality. We send our concerns to our local councillor, but not much happens. It’s been a year since the municipality dug up and destroyed our road, with no solution in sight.”
The Riley Road residents say that all they can do is sit and wait for their once lovely road to be restored.
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