Mending fences
WESTDENE – Residents from Westdene reinstall a missing piece of barrier fencing on the Westdene Dam.
Concerned residents reinstalled a piece of missing barrier fence on the bridge crossing over the Westdene Dam on 5 May.
The piece of barrier fencing was reportedly stolen off the bridge by unknown perpetrators in 2012. The assailants were eventually apprehended and the stolen barrier fencing recovered. It was left in the care of resident Luke Zeeman, until plans could be made to have it reinstalled.
Zeeman and his fellow residents Frikkie Botes and Mark Napier took it upon themselves to restore the missing bridge barrier. They said that the missing fence could pose a danger for pedestrians attempting to take a chance, by stepping through the gap to cross the busy road. ” Many pedestrians make use of the crossing every day, and it was just a matter of time until someone got hurt,” Zeeman said.
Napier pointed out that the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) have been notified on many occasions in the last three years about the missing bridge component and requests have been made to have it collected and reinstalled, but to no avail. “We have been trying repeatedly to get the JRA to come collect and reinstall the fencing. But little has been done and we decided that it was up to us to reinstall the missing component,” he said.
Communications officer at the JRA, Mosa Makhalima was contacted about the fence reinstallation on 5 May. Comment is still awaited.
