Jozi Trails starts work at Delta Park

DELTA PARK – Jozi Trails is looking at better ways to use these parks and create a blueprint that can be rolled out to every park across the city.

April 21, 2018

Chantelle Fourie 2 minutes read

The grader and driver were sponsored by John Barrow of Barrow Construction.

Much needed rehabilitation work and erosion control have already started in Delta Park thanks to the recently established Jozi Trails non-profit company and a helping hand from a local business.

Jozi Trails’ Albert van Urk said Delta Park was high on their priority list because it was used by so many people.

“It is also because it has suffered some serious erosion damage over the years,” he said.

Jozi Trails, which will manage the development and maintenance of recreational trails along the spruit, initially did not plan on starting this work so soon because of the amount that needs to be done. But, that all changed when they met John Barrow of Barrow Construction, Van Urk said.

Barrow, he added, did not hesitate to offer his help after hearing about Jozi Trails’ plans.

“[A grader] and driver were sponsored by John,” said Van Urk. “We had full use of the machine and driver for four full days. It is people like John that makes this project so amazing.”

Jozi Trails’ Albert van Urk says serious erosion has occurred in Delta Park over the years.

Stormwater run-off channels on Bantam Road were repaired as these overflowed everytime it rained and caused erosion all the way down the trail, Van Urk said. Stormwater channels at the bottom of the park will also be fixed.

Van Urk added that water bars needed to be created in various areas to stop rain and water from eroding trails, and papyrus islands from the top dam that had come loose were being removed.

“It is amazing to see the amount of work they got done and the quality of the work that was done. We inspected the trails the morning after all the rain and the water bars worked perfectly and prevented a lot of trail damage.”

Work being done in Delta Park on the Bantam Road side.

The work that has been done will benefit runners, dog walkers, trail runners and horse riders in this section of the park.

The initiative has been welcomed with open arms by residents and Jozi Trails is looking at better ways to use these parks and create a blueprint that can be rolled out to every park across the city.

Van Urk said this initiative was working because people were ready for a solution. He said problems faced in parks have been broken down to a simple solution, which led to the creation of Jozi Trails.