West residents unconvinced by Daspoort tunnel maintenance efforts
The tunnel was closed this past weekend for maintenance work.
Residents west of Pretoria who frequently use the Daspoort tunnel are experiencing trouble getting to their destinations due to maintenance work being done on the tunnel.
This past weekend the metro announced it would close the tunnel off to the public for some much-needed maintenance.
This forms part of the metro’s Urban Management Plan, which seeks to improve service delivery in public spaces such as parks, key buildings and cemeteries.
Work being done on the tunnel includes unblocking stormwater channels, marking roads and conducting general cleaning and maintenance along the routes leading to and inside the tunnel.
While residents were appreciative of the effort, regular users of the tunnel believe there is still much more to be done to revive it to acceptable standards.
“Good initiative but long overdue. The cables for the lights get stolen so often and it is actually very unsafe for the pedestrians using the tunnel to go to school and work.
“Hope the tree pruning will be done in Ward 60 and Ward 3 as well, as the overgrown trees are also a cause of power outages,” said Proclamation Hill resident Wendy Oelofse.
She claims the branches also cover working streetlights.
Fellow motorist and tunnel user, secretary of the Hercules CPF Johan Cloete believes the metro should do more work to enhance its visual appearance and also consider installing CCTV.
“The old channels for the cables and stuff are still hanging there, why can’t they take those off so it looks better?” Cloete asked.
“I also think they should put in security cameras on a certain height in the roof so they can see who is vandalising the tunnels.”
Cloete acknowledged that it is now much cleaner, though he believes regular maintenance is essential in ensuring vandals no longer damage the tunnel.
Resident Sonja Theron said the work hasn’t stopped and that she has trouble getting around without using the convenient tunnel.
“They’re still busy working in the tunnel, cars were struggling this morning to get in and out, I had to use the TUT way,” Theron said.
“On Monday at least the lights were working but those walls need cleaning and upgrading, they’re black and dirty.”
Councillor Mpati Ramphile believed the exercise lacked merit and was just a case of empty promises made by the metro regarding the issue.
“There is no plan at the moment, they have been saying this about the Daspoort tunnel for more than five years now,” Ramphile said.
On the metro’s X post updating residents on the tunnel work, comments by users read:
“That stormwater [channel] is permanently blocked due to maintenance done only during election seasons.” – @Tshirado_AT.
“Ok but this tunnel needs some painting work to be done. It’s kind of creepy when you drive through in the late hours. Can’t it be made to be brighter?” – @_mrthabiso32
“The fumes extractor and the side rails also need to be fixed. Pedestrians cannot pass through because the ventilation is poor.” – @ItsOhbeeNotOB
The metro had previously said the effort was part of ongoing measures to address the service delivery concerns of Region 3 residents in light of the ongoing power outages and damage caused by recent extreme weather conditions.
Watch here:
Work in progress: Daspoort Tunnel pic.twitter.com/8YC2eOizWs
— City of Tshwane (@CityTshwane) February 25, 2024
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