UPDATE: Whale Coast plans draw mixed reviews [POLL]

The South Durban beach upgrade proposal was presented to the Bluff, Wentworth and Merebank communities last week. Called the Whale Coast, the proposed development stretches from Ansteys to Cuttings Beach and includes environmental, leisure, sporting, tourism and economic considerations.

Members of the public were enthusiastic about the much-needed development, especially in terms of the environmental aspects, but were concerned the project would become a white elephant if urban management is not improved.

“All the entrances to the area need to be looked at before tourists will come here. Solomon Mahlangu, Badulla drives and Quality Street are dangerous roads with so many trucks and the area is rundown. How can we get tourists on our beaches if they have to pass through all this first?”said South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) co-ordinator, Desmond D’Sa.

Community members seemed to be of the same mind as D’Sa. “One thing I have picked up during this meeting is that urban management in its entirety is the issue,” said Themba Msomi from the municipality’s economic development department. He said all the line departments need to be called in and mechanisms put in place to ensure this is done.

Ansteys Beach is marked as a mostly-pedestrian restaurant precinct and will be separated from Brighton Beach, which is to become the sporting precinct. Access to Brighton Beach will be via Strand Road. Treasure Beach will have an environmental focus and Cuttings Beach will be cleaned up and will have a new pier, rock pool and a bridge across the Umlaas canal.

Yusuf Patel from Architects Collaborative, who worked on the proposal, said the two main interim focusses are to improve the amenities and environment at Cuttings Beach and to open up Strand Road to allow access to Brighton Beach.

Attendees were in agreement with plans to improve Cuttings Beach but many were opposed to the plan for Strand Road.
“Correctly speaking, any such access would have to be made from Airlie Road and not Strand Road. It is simply not feasible to contemplate putting a major thoroughfare through this quiet, built-up neighbourhood. Not only would the cost of expropriation prove prohibitively expensive, but the narrow width of Airlie Road simply rules out any increase in traffic volumes,” said ward 66 councillor, Duncan Du Bois.

In agreement with Du Bois were former Bluff Ratepayers Association chairman, Ivor Aylward and Community Orientated Policing chairman, Rake Jeeves, who discussed the proposal among themselves after the public presentation.

Aylward suggested 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?” he said.

“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. 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.

Another architect who worked on the proposal, Ian van Biljoen said the extension of Strand Road to the beach makes sense and is the best viable option to alleviate traffic problems for Foreshore Drive and to allow access to Brighton Beach. “The road is wide enough and if need be, we can cut into the verges. What people who live there must understand is that this was already zoned years ago for the purpose of building a road and it will have many more benefits for them than it will cause problems,” said Van Biljoen.

CLICK HERE to view the full proposal, the video presentation and to read more on the reactions of the community.