Boulevard plan needed

A management plan for the Helen Suzman Boulevard is on the cards.

Green Point’s ward councillor Dave Bryant has submitted a motion for the implementation of an urgent management plan for Helen Suzman Boulevard, to Sub-council 16.

At the most recent sub-council meeting, on Monday October 21, Mr Bryant requested that an urgent interim urban management plan be put in place to manage ongoing challenges on the boulevard and surrounds. Among these are the overall maintenance of the Green Point area along Helen Suzman Boulevard, particularly near to the MyCiTi stop, the A-Track parking area and the traffic circle underpass.

They heard that despite ongoing service requests, on-site meetings and other attempted interventions by Mr Bryant, dumping, littering, vandalism, graffiti and rough sleeping continued to be a problem.

“Over the past weeks I have met with officials on site to discuss ways to address challenges at the space and this was followed up with a series of large clean up, repair and graffiti operations during the week,” said Mr Bryant.

He added that challenges were exacerbated by the lack of a co-ordinated management plan or the fact that while surrounding areas were part of City Improvement Districts (CIDs), which benefited from additional cleansing and security services, the area in question was not part of a CID.

He added that provision must be made for additional Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) cleaning as soon as possible, sourcing labour from the local sub-council and that it continues until at least the end of the financial year. They agreed that repairs to all broken infrastructure, including fencing be must addressed immediately and with urgency.

The sub-council resolved that the motion be delivered to the executive directors for water and waste; safety and security; and community services and health for urgent feedback and that the chairperson, Matthew Kempthorne and Mr Bryant set up an urgent meeting with relevant agencies to discuss the feedback.

Weighing in on the matter, the co-chairperson of the Green Point Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association, Elizabeth Knight, said they welcomed the motion as it would ensure better safety and security for everyone in the area. “Judging from the requests and cleaning services that we get on a daily basis, it is a problem that creates a lot of work, not only for the City, but for everyone,” she said.

Ms Knight added that they were cognisant of the fact that because facilities in the area, such as the Urban Park, attracted many visitors, it was costly for the City to keep it well-maintained.