GALLERY: Riverwel Resident’s Association cleans bridge
Weltevreden Park – RiverWel Resident's Association gathers to clean up the Cockspur Bridge on 23 August.
Old and young alike gathered on 23 August with the RiverWel Resident’s Association to host the second annual clean-up at the Cockspur Bridge in Weltevreden Park.
Ward 126 councillor Michael Tonkin said that it was important to keep environments such as the bridge clean on an ongoing basis as a great deal of garbage gets stuck in the bridge and causes major problems in the long run.
“If we don’t clean up the bridge, things such as tree trunks and litter causes the bridge to block and overflow,” he said.
He added that even though the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) was mandated to clean such areas it was usually an uphill battle to get them to do so quickly.
He pointed out however, that he took it upon himself to ensure that this was done in order to prevent further damage and to keep the area looking clean. “This kind of activity unites the community and this is what a councillor should do for their community on a regular basis,” Tonkin said.
He pointed out that the City had recently spent close to R4 million on fixing the bridge in Cornelius Street in Weltevreden Park and added that if the City had fixed such problems in time, the tax payer’s money could have been used elsewhere.
Resident George Gorgier, who lives next to the bridge, said he had recently chased away a vagrant he found living under the bridge. “We must keep this area clean and free of squatters as this may cause crime in the area to go up,” he said.
“My security camera often catches people walking by this area as early as 3am and I’m alerted to this when my dog starts to bark,” Gorgier said.
He added that perhaps a solution to not only maintaining the cleanliness of the bridge but to also keep people from squatting under the bridge, was to build a fence that would act as a security barrier.
