Backlog of fallen trees after storm hits north-east suburbs

In the aftermath of a storm that hit north-eastern suburbs on 14 January, it was found that many trees were blown over.

According to Ward 74 councillor David Fisher, a tree fell over outside of residents’ homes on Dennington Avenue, Winston Ridge.

“I went to check and I noticed that the tree fell on the road and did no damage,” Fisher said.

“I immediately reported it to the standby team at City Parks who are tasked with the emergency clearing of obstructions.

‘They were on-site in the early hours of Saturday morning and cleared the roadway. I was very impressed with the quick response.”

He added that he was also informed of fallen trees at The Avenue in front of Hope Road in Orange Grove, in Forrest Road in Bramley, Louis Botha Service Road in Gresswold and Hastings Road, Savoy Estate.

“I then reported them and followed up on the clearing of the roads. Fortunately, no injuries were reported although services such as power and phone [lines] were disrupted.

“They [City Parks] managed to attend to all the emergency work promptly and on behalf of the residents in my ward I can pass on the thanks and appreciation from many who contacted me.”

Fisher said he continued to monitor the removal of branches which was a non-emergency activity. “On 24 January, I discussed the backlog with Jerome Ogle, the regional manager at City Parks and Zoo who informed me that they were working on the issue but that the volume of more than 80 trees was bigger than his operational teams could manage in the normal course of their working week.

“He had authorised overtime to be worked over the three weekends in a proactive response to this abnormal workload.”

Fisher said during a recent follow up he was informed that there were still many sites that needed clearing and was assured that the City Parks team was busy with the removal.

Johannesburg City Park and Zoo’s spokesperson, Jenny Moodley said they continued to receive reports of uprooted trees and fallen branches stemming from the seasonal rains and storms.

“The entity has appointed external contractors as part of its emergency plans to remove trees and branches that are obstructing traffic,” said Moodley.

“The branches are relocated to the sidewalk and there is a 21-day turnaround commitment to ensure that these branches are chipped and removed. Generally, the branches are removed much sooner, however, due to seasonal backlogs, the entity has put in place weekend teams to also assist with the removal of branches on the sidewalks.”

Moodley on behalf of City Parks thanked residents for their patience and would like to appeal to residents whose requests are yet to be attended to, to please forward an email to trees@jhbcityparks.com

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