Dangerous behaviour by some motorists has left residents of Ward 1 fearing for their safety, as well as that of their children.
According to Ward 1 Councillor and MMC for Infrastructure and Engineering, Dries van der Westhuizen, they have discovered that some motorists drive through the park in Mount Pleasant, even removing barriers to do so, while it is specifically reserved for residents to use as a recreational space.
The councillor’s office has discovered on separate occasions that the barriers have been removed and the park vandalised, also paving the way for quad bike drivers to take shortcuts through the park.
The park is situated in Gladys Road, between Risa Road and Milner Street.
“Residents have requested my intervention because the barriers around the park had been removed in strategic places by unknown persons.
This enabled access for vehicles and/or quad bikes to cut through the park from 28th Avenue to Gladys Road as a shortcut,” Van der Westhuizen said.
He explained that since the Ward 1 office moved to the area in January this year, there have been reports of these occurrences.
“A persistent effort on the part of the councillor, ward office and municipal officials eventually resulted in a solution of replacing the barriers to make the park safe from vehicles but these incidents reoccur,” he said.
Van der Westhuizen, along with residents, fear the danger that this poses to the community.
“The danger to the community is that young children make use of this park daily for recreational purposes, with the confident expectation of being unharmed by motorised vehicles.
“Residents of the area also make use of the park to walk and play with their children and pets. The Mount Pleasant Primary School is around the corner. No culprits have been identified yet, as the park is unfortunately not monitored by security cameras,” he added.
His message to the perpetrators is that their actions, besides being unlawful, present a grave hazard to the unsuspecting park-goers who have the right and expectation of safety from harm by motor vehicles.
“Furthermore, the exit point of these vehicles onto Gladys Road is also a hazard for motorists making use of Gladys Road as there is obviously no signage or warning of vehicles exiting the park onto Gladys Road.
He made it clear that the ward office is disappointed in this careless behaviour and incidents where the barriers were forcibly knocked or driven over.
“At the behest of local park-goers, the barriers were recently replaced to stop vehicles using the park as a detour from 28th Avenue to Gladys Road,” Van der Westhuizen said.
“This is an effort to safeguard the children, pets and residents who make use of this open space for their leisure.
“This spiteful and violent behaviour is condemned in the strongest possible terms.
“The perpetrators clearly have no regard for communal property, let alone human life,” Van der Westhuizen concluded.
The perpetrators have been urged by the ward office to stop this dangerous behaviour.
