Resident’s concern over Maple Drive
Residents claim that they were not consulted prior to construction, and Maple Drive cannot be reduced to just a left-turn lane.
Following the article, Upgrade turns sour, [Week ending February 4], frustration among Kyalami residents keeps piling up regarding the K73 Road upgrade project.
The residents continue to voice their concerns about the road upgrade, claiming they were not consulted before construction began and that Maple Drive cannot be reduced to just a left-turn lane.
The project is overseen by the Gauteng Provincial Department of Roads and Transport. Lonerock Construction and WSP Parsons Brickerhoff were appointed by the department to undertake the engineering service for the upgrading of the roads associated with the construction of the K73.
In the hope that City of Joburg’s MMC for Transport Funzi Ngobeni would at least hear and address their grievances, the residents and Action SA members called a meeting with the MMC on July 8.
Amish Chana, one of the community members explained to the MMC that their main complaint was Maple Drive.
“Some residents use this road (K73) to take their children to Kyalami Preparatory School. Now if Maple Drive is reduced to only the left turn lane residents will have to drive an extra 2.6km through Waterfall Drive and R55.
“When they[contractors] did an impact assessment for the K73 Road upgrade they did put up a notice, but the assessment showed no impact to this road [Maple Drive],” said Chana.
The Midrand Reporter contacted Annette Deppe, the ward councillor for the area, and in her response, Deppe said there were meetings held with the residents and the contractors in 2016.
“It seems quite a lot of new residents have moved into the area in Kyalami Ward 132 in the last five years. Many seem to have not been involved at the stakeholders meeting of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process that took place some years ago,” said Deppe.
Louw du Plessis, chief engineer at the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport, stated in an email that the project is currently under construction and that during the detailed design stage a public participation process was followed during the basic assessment to give the public an opportunity to comment and register as an affected party.
“An advert was placed at the property in 2016,” said Du Plessis.
“The Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has subsequently issued an approval that the EIA was done and gave their approval for the project.
“This includes their assessment that all required processes have been followed correctly, including the public participation process.”
As a response to the complaints made by the residents at the meeting, Ngobeni promised them that he would address their complaints with the Department of Roads and Transport, explain the residents’ grievances to the department, and report back to the residents.
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