Beach upgrade: Strand Road access unnecessary

LOCAL stakeholders weigh in on the somewhat contentious proposed South Durban beach upgrade plans as the next round of public participation meetings gets underway.

Ward 66 councillor, Duncan Du Bois, outgoing Bluff Ratepayers Association chairman, Ivor Aylward and Bluff Community Orientated Policing chairman, Rake Jeeves met on Wednesday, 26 November to discuss the proposed beach upgrade plans.

“Security is the most important factor. You can make the beaches as pretty as you want, but if you don’t upgrade security there is no point,” said Jeeves, with both Aylward and Du Bois concurring.

“There are a lot of pretty ideas but many are not practical. One access point to Ansteys and Brighton, as things are now, is better in terms of monitoring and security,” said Du Bois. “Also, blocking access between the beaches is a problem. What if some has a heart attack on the pedestrian only area and an ambulance can’t get to them?” added Jeeves.

The men were discussing the proposals to extend Strand Road down to Foreshore Drive for access to Brighton Beach and to separate Brighton from Ansteys Beach by a pedestrian only restaurant area. “Strand Road is not wide enough for this and will cause traffic flow problems for residents living there,” said Du Bois.

Aylward suggested that if a link road is necessary it be built where there will be less impact, such as at the end of Oakland Road near Treasure Beach. “Surely there are other, more feasible options that will not impact as heavily on the community and the embankment? What I want to know is how much all of this is going to cost and where the money will come from? They plan to build a massive whale statue in the middle of a turn-about at Brighton Beach – this is impractical and unnecessary expenditure,” said Aylward.

In short, the trio were all in agreement on three points. They do not believe the Strand Road expansion is ideal, the separation of Ansteys and Brighton is unnecessary and security must be increased before anything else is done.

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