Bright future envisioned for eMdloti
Plans to rehabilitate the dunes as well as the errection of a boardwalk and 'back of beach parking' are slowly falling into place.
EMDLOTI is set to undergo a massive upgrade. This according to a planned vision from the eMdloti Urban Improvement Precinct (UIP). According to Terry Rens, of the UIP, they plan to maintain the ’boutique village’ feel of the area.
“We have many cleaning and greening projects that we aim to accomplish, from loading soil to areas that need it, removing loose railings, and planting aloes to name just a few. The aim is to make eMdloti as aesthetically beautiful as possible. We know that we are going to have challenges and that the whole project will not be completed overnight, but development is happening in the area, and we want to ensure that we maintain the current feel of eMdloti,” she said.
Rens added that parking was one of the biggest challenges they foresaw with regards to the upgrade. Since there is no space for more parking close to the beach, the aim is to include ‘back of beach parking’.
“Tongaat Hulett handed over a portion of land to be used for overflow parking which could form part of the future back of beach parking. Part of the big vision is to construct a boardwalk from the parking area to the beach. People can walk down or ride their bicycles along the boardwalk. The idea is to have more people moving on foot with open deck areas along our natural stream with a cafe/pedestrian feel. The whole idea is to enable people to take in the laid back feel and natural state of eMdloti,” she added.
Another massive task the UIP plans to tackle is the rehabilitation of the dunes.
“People are the biggest problem as traffic along the dunes pose the biggest threat. If the vegetation is trampled and killed then the sand bags will be exposed to the elements, which leads to their degradation and ultimately the waste of millions of rands from the municipality’s efforts,” she said.
For the rehab project the UIP has already begun to plant aloes and other water wise indigenous plants on top of the dunes in an effort to facilitate the growth of foliage. The UIP has appealed to the community to donate Aloe Thraskii towards the initiative.
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