Public meeting a big success
NORTH RIDING – Residents raise their issues and concerns at Ward 115 public meeting.
The community members of Ward 115 attended a public meeting on 11 March at North Riding Secondary School hosted by councillor Chris Santana.
The purpose of the meeting was to talk about Integrated Development Planning (IDP) and traffic and bylaw enforcement.
“The IDP is drawn up every 5 to 10 years and it contains suggestions made by council about infrastructure and water related upgrades in the ward.”
The first point that Santana discussed with public was about the increased traffic on Bellairs and Hyperion Drive as a result of the new secondary school.
“The issue is speed and I suggest that we draw up a petition for speed-bumps that will reduce speeding and make the area safer,” added Santana.
Residents agreed with him and agreed to set up a petition.
“Storm water upgrades are also in the new IDP as the area of North Riding is always flooded after heavy storms and one of the main concerns is the old Witkoppen Bridge that is above a river and a main sewer line runs underneath this bridge. If it had to collapse, all of the sewage will flow into the river.”
Santana said that he cleans up the river and the bridge once a year in conjunction with entities from the City but something needs to be done to make the bridge safer after heavy rains.
The next big discussion was in terms of traffic and bylaw enforcement and residents talked about police and Metro Police officers that make them feel unsafe.
One resident said, “The officers are supposed to make us feel safe and to protect us but they are not doing that when they stop us and harass us for bribes.”
“The Metro Police and SAPS are aware of the bribes and they are doing their best to rectify the problems so we ask the public to immediately report any bribe cases to the police,” said a Metro Police officer who attended the meeting.
Santana thanked everyone for attending the meeting and added that if residents had anything to add to the new IDP they can give him a call.
Details: Ward 115 councillor Chris Santana 082 416 7714.
