Workers have begun to upgrade the paving on both sides of 7th Avenue from Jan Smuts to 1st Avenue West, Parktown North.
Ward 117 councillor Tim Truluck said, “The sidewalk has been a mess for many years. I approached the JRA (Johannesburg Roads Agency) with this idea as a project for my ward. The JRA has assigned a budget to both sides of the road.”
[uses_iframe src=”https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d4259.200686781826!2d28.032756808361505!3d-26.146322723583037!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x1e950c91f9b8033b%3A0x1ddb4d79cf719ade!2sJan+Smuts+Ave+%26+7th+Ave%2C+Randburg%2C+2193!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sza!4v1535438589829″ width=”600″ height=”450″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border:0″ allowfullscreen]
Truluck said that many people use that road to walk to work after being dropped off by taxis or the Gautrain in Rosebank. He added that residents will also find it useful as it is close to many restaurants in the area. “We want to see more residents walking in the area in order to reduce traffic and I believe that this is a good start.”
Chairperson of the Parktown North Residents Association (PNRA) Lee-Ann Louverdis has been instrumental at working behind the scenes to get the project on the road.
Louverdis said, “These sidewalks form the central spine running through Parktown North. It is a significant upgrade because it is a highly pedestrianised sidewalk.”
Louverdis said the previous pavement was tarred with asphalt, which came loose. “I am pleased that they are going to do brick paving so that when they trench for services, it can look clean and won’t break up like the asphalt. Many people also park on 3rd Avenue and walk to restaurants, which has become a safety hazard, so this upgrade will improve this.”
Photo: Sarah Koning
She explained that the PNRA wants to find security solutions that are integrated with urban management. “We use a two-fold approach that includes the use of the PNRA security scheme and our project to make the neighbourhood look good. It is scientifically proven that the more untidy the neighbourhood, the more susceptible to crime it will be.
“This project has been on the cards since 2013. We realise that we have to wait our turn and are grateful to the JRA and councillor Truluck for their work to rejuvenate the pavements.”
Louverdis said the PNRA has been working closely with 7th Avenue residents and business owners and have developed an email list to keep them updated on the progress. To be part of this list, email chair@parktownnorth.org
The car park on the corner of 3rd and 7th avenues has been used to keep materials for the building project so there is reduced parking in this space.
It is expected that the pavement rejuvenation project will take between three and six months to be completed.
The JRA had not responded to questions by the time of publishing.
Related articles:
JRA confirms that reconstruction of Hamilton and Marlborough avenues will be completed in September
Find your ward councillor to report service delivery problems
-
-
-
-
