Sharonlea resident Paul McGill has raised concern over the state of roads the area, particularly Raasblaar Street which seems as though it could crumble away at any moment.
McGill, who uses the road daily said that the problem is ongoing, with the road rapidly deteriorating. “I walk with my children here, but I have started taking a different route. It makes my blood boil that nothing is being done to fix what could become a very dangerous problem for our community.”
Ward 101 councillor Ralf Bittkau tried to keep his balance on the road, while it physically shuddered and moved whenever he took a step. He believed that a sinkhole was developing.
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The road, already in a poor state since January, deteriorated drastically after the fierce storm on March 7.
Bittkau had been reporting it to the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) for months.
“The problem is subsoil water coming up to the surface,” Bittkau said.
“One possible solution is to put a drain in to catch the water as it comes up and lead it into the stormwater drain. Obviously, the whole road needs to be resurfaced as well.”
Before the storm, resident Leon Rossouw had already complained about the state of the road.
“It is in such a mess you literally have to creep through the broken-up areas,’ he said.
“I suggest we again get JRA around and this time I would like to attend the meeting on site. JRA owes us an answer.”
Central Sharonlea Residents Forum chairperson JC Wouters said there were several roads in the area in poor condition, and the forum was following up on these with the municipality.
In the case of Raasblaar Street, Wouters believed the subsoil water needed to be drained or angled into the stormwater drain.
“It’s such easy solutions but they don’t want to spend money on these. They just do nothing,” he claimed.
The JRA spokesperson Lucia Mahlanga was sent questions on March 8 by Randburg Sun asking why Bittkau had received no response from the agency about this matter, why nothing had been done about the road since it was reported in January, and what the agency could do to solve the problem.
She was also asked if the road was safe for pedestrians and motorists as it was fairly well-used.
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