Ward 104 councillor Mike Wood addresses issues faced in the Fontainebleau Park.
Fontainebleau Park on Fifth Avenue has for many years been a thorn in the side of residents in the area. Multiple park cleanups have been successfully attended and completed, only for residents to see their hard work ruined just days later.
The park is littered with broken bottles, rubbish, mattresses and a general mess. Dozens of homeless and displaced people can be seen using the park for various reasons. Some use the area to seek shelter while others can be seen drinking and socialising.
While the park is meant for the community and one can say that all who use it are a part of the community; often there is an element of criminal activity associated with the park. Wood explained that he is constantly in contact with Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo.
“We have park rangers that patrol the area but without any real power, we cannot expect them to be able to make any difference,” added Wood.
“What we really need is the community’s involvement.” He explained that the community is too scared to use the park and as such criminal activity is able to breed openly. “Having residents in their numbers using the park will discourage criminals from using the park,” said Wood.
City Parks is trying to maintain the park by cutting the grass and removing a lot of rubbish, explained Wood, but they just don’t have enough resources to keep it safe.
