United force against K60 road

The attendees of the first public participation meeting for the K60 road in Paulshof were in consensus that the road should not be constructed on the planned route and Witkoppen Road should rather be widened.

The proposed road is an east-west link. Interested and affected parties at the meeting were concerned for the proposed link from Rivonia Road in Sunninghill to Witkoppen Road.

Michelle Watson of Friends of Rietfontein, a lobby group that formed to oppose the road, objected to the road as it would cut through Rietfontein ridge which is protected with a green belt which is a hotspot for biodiversity. She said it would disturb Rietfontein Nature Reserve and FreeMe Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.

Watson said, “With these factors in considerations, how could you possibly be thinking of continuing with this road?”

Watson was met with applaud from the parties, who were crammed into a room in Dream Body Fitness gym in The Core shopping centre, with some people even standing outside the door. The venue was changed two days before the evening due to no electricity at the original venue.

The parties were frustrated at the bad planning and that the advert only appeared on the day of the meeting. Many called for the meeting to be annulled.

Rock Environmental Consulting, who are conducting the public participation meetings, scoping phase and Environmental Impact Assessment, showcased maps and explained the process. The meeting was the first of three public participation meetings and two viewing sites so parties would understand the route and lodge objections.

The first meeting minuted questions to be answered at the second meeting.
The consultants’ role was to gather evidence to give city council enough information to make an informed decision.

The results of the scoping phase and the water use licence application would be available to the public.

The three-hour long meeting gave a lot of airtime to the interested and affected parties, made up of residents from various areas in Johannesburg, members of FreeMe Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, Friends of Rietfontein, estate agents and environmentalists. No one voiced opinion for the road although Ward 93 councillor Annette Deppe said 60 percent of Sunninghill residents wanted the road.

Environmental concerns of noise, air and water pollution, the proximity of the road to FreeMe Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, who is funding the road, concern for recreational activities, potential added crime, the division of Paulshof and resettlement of the informal settlement and the Clayoven community were among the concerns raised.

Wetlands in Crisis chairman Paul Fairall said the road was proposed in the 1970s when he was a serving officer in the army. He said the road would cross the wetland three times and would be detrimental to the water course. “This map was planned by people sitting in a room with no windows. It is absurd to consider constructing this road,” Fairall said.

Environmentalist John Brammall said they should notify everyone in the country, not just residents, to object to the road.

Nearly 1 000 people have signed Friends of Rietfontein’s petition against the road.
Watson said, “We shouldn’t even be talking about this road because there’s no way it’s going through.”