Upgrades on the way for Killarney and Riviera suburbs
KILLARNEY – A group called We Love Killarney invited residents to come and have their say regarding their proposed developmental plans for the suburbs Killarney and Riviera.
Residents from the suburbs of Killarney and Riviera were only too happy to attend a public meeting held at Killarney Mall to discuss the future of their suburb.
A group called We Love Killarney had been putting together research and plans for public upgrades for the mentioned suburbs.
One of the group directors, Laurence Sachs welcomed the community members in attendance and made it clear that the group was not taking over the duties of the residents’ associations or other community groups but rather wanted to contribute to the betterment of the community through working together.
Another group director, Alex Leisegang expressed that the group was more of a ‘think tank’ who went into the community to find out their needs. “We want the projects lined-up to be community driven and possibly community funded.”
Blanca Calvo took residents through the process of finding out the community members’ needs, dreams and aspirations regarding their suburbs. “We had a team of people going around taking notes and we found out there were a lot of maintenance needs in Riviera on 1st Street and the highway. The park was said to be unsafe during early morning hours and late evening hours.”
She added that residents felt Killarney is the safest and cleanest area in comparison to other Johannesburg residential areas. Children also expressed their desire to play football as well as asked for more leisure activities to be included. Also, an overwhelming request for coffee shops in the suburb was noted.
Architect and urban designer Thomas Chapman said the suburbs in question had a lot of pedestrian activity and the aim was to increase pedestrian space. “We are looking for the synergy between physical upgrades and maintenance. If we fund-raise or implement a project, we want to make sure it’s sustainable.”
There were six major areas proposed for upgrade-fundraising and among them were the park, Killarney Mall and the highway.
Marloes Reinink said, “Going forward, we want to take each project and identify costs and take it to the body corporate, we’re also thinking of crowdfunding. We are definitely looking for community members to help out with various skills including legal knowledge and social media.”
To see detailed outlines of the proposed upgrades please visit the We Love Killarney page on Facebook.
Post your opinions on the proposed innovations on the Rosebank Killarney Gazette Facebook page.
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