Ward 115 councillor Ian McMahon sat down with Atlantic Sun to discuss the challenges that he will face this year, in a ward that includes Three Anchor Bay, Green Point, De Waterkant as well as Woodstock and the City Bowl.
The noisy modified vehicles that often drive around the streets of the Atlantic Seaboard, he says, are among the priorities for residents of this area.
He adds that he and Ward 54 councillor Nicola Jowell, made a joint motion to sub-council last year May about getting traffic services and transport network services to work together towards finding a solution.
“Perhaps the overall effect from an engineering point of view might have the desired outcomes of reducing the speeds. We can’t put speed bumps and speed traps on every street, so maybe from this engineering point of view it creates a stop-start scenario and maybe that would have a positive impact on the noise so that you wouldn’t have, say from the circle to Three Anchor Bay, a stretch that you can speed on.
“This is not a quick or easy fix and we must consider the schedule of the MyCiTi buses and that’s why I believe it has to be a top-down engineering approach.”
Mr McMahon is also looking at putting up bollards to stop from parking at blind’ spaces.
“I’m meeting with the roads department about where to put red lines, bollards, especially near the corners where people edge out in to Main Road to see oncoming traffic and there have been a few accidents.
McMahon says homelessness is a significant issue for the residents of Ward 115 and commended the actions of the Green Point tennis club which has plans in place to help the homeless.
“Homelessness effects the entire city and it’s been dictated mainly under the Disaster Management Act and the various legal cases that have come from this act which prevent the City from enforcing by-laws. So it’s not something I can change as it’s not within my authority,” he said.
“I’m aware of the Green Point tennis club and that plans to assist the homeless living around the tennis courts.”
Mr McMahon added that through national grant funding, more than 500 homeless people had been given jobs, whicch pay a stipend, to work in areas various areas in Ward 115.
“Liz Knight, under the auspices of the Green Point Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association, is taking about 20 unofficial car guards and putting them in a programme where they will be given training and uniform to formalise that programme and uplift the people. It’s structured and I believe this will bring a positive impact to motorists parking on Main Road,” Mr McMahon says.
He adds that he has received reports of used needles being found in the Green Point area and that a project is under way to manage this.
“We met with TBHIV Care. They run the U-Turn needle exchange programme. We introduced them to Green Point CID so (they can) send teams out to look for these discarded needles.
“Part of this programme is about looking after the health safety of people who inject drugs.”
Mr McMahon was involved in the planning for the Formula-E race track which will go around Cape Town Stadium. The race is scheduled for February 2023.
“We are upgrading the area in terms of a horticultural point of view and that was last done for the 2010 World Cup. So the eyes of the world will be on us and we need to get this right now instead of a month before the race,” he said.
“The road has to be widened and that affects the sidewalks and trees, but we won’t lose any trees in this process.”
Another long-term project is the connection of the city centre and the V&A Waterfront which is referred to as the gateway project.
“This project is being run by the City’s catalytic investment arm and it will link the CBD with the Waterfront. There’s a number of City- and provincial-owned properties like police headquarters so this is a long-term development framework plan and we are having meetings with ratepayers about this,” he said.