A request to demolish and replace the corrugated-roof shelter, which serves as a bus stop in Klipfontein Road in Rondebosch, has been submitted to the City of Cape Town. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Located in Klipfontein Road directly opposite the entrance to the Red Cross War Memorial Children\u2019s Hospital, the shelter is colloquially known as Canal Walk \u201cbecause people are always selling something there\u201d, a man wearing a Golden Arrow uniform told People\u2019s Post<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consisting of a roof, walls and a long bench, the shelter was originally purpose-built for the mothers visiting their ill children at the health facility. However, Katherine Christie, councillor for Ward 58, says the space has been taken over by illegal traders and other \u201cunscrupulous\u201d characters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Christie, drug peddlers and even gang members are hiding among the illegal traders at this bus stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe mothers get pushed out by the illegal traders and the street people who like to sleep there. They don\u2019t feel comfortable or safe using it when waiting for buses or taxis. It is also dirty because people tend to relieve themselves there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christie says Shafiek Adams, a member of the Rondebosch Park Estate\u2019s Neighbourhood Watch, as well as members of the Mowbray Community Policing Forum (CPF), often bring the deteriorating conditions at the bus stop to her attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe conduct regular Displaced Persons Unit (DPI) operations there where law enforcement officers raid the bus stop to investigate whether drug trading is going on there. We clear it up, we clean it up. The City\u2019s Solid Waste Department comes and collects all the rubbish but, of course, as soon as our teams leave, then they come back again,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Wednesday 14 December, Christie, together with Adams and a number of City officials, visited the site. Christie says as they approached, the illegal traders quickly dispersed, only to go and stand around the corner, waiting for them to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe do frequent clean-ups, and more clean-ups. So it is high maintenance, it is manpower, it is time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She says the suggestion was made to keep the shelter in place and to look after it, but after a brainstorming session the conclusion was reached that, as long as there is a structure with a roof, walls and bench at the bus stop, people will use it as a venue for squatting and trading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In an email sent to a senior facilities manager in Public Transport last week, Christie asked for the entire structure \u2013 bench, walls, poles and roof \u2013 to be completely removed as soon as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Christie says the plan is for Transport to erect the standard bus shelters, \u201cthose with the bum rails\u201d, in its place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere will be enough shelter to ensure that there is plenty of room for our commuters waiting for taxis and buses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd plenty of it, so that there is plenty of room for people waiting for taxis and buses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A request will also be lodged for the fence that currently separates the bus stop from the St Giles Association for the Handicapped to be moved forward. Christie explains that St Giles is renting the space behind the fence from the City. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut I am going to ask if they can just move the wall forward so that St Giles can take that space as well and use it for their garden.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Christie says she believes the change will be welcomed by the mothers and their children who travel to the Red Cross, plus all the commuters returning home from work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe just don\u2019t want to make any area hospitable to people who are lawless and inconsiderate. I am aiming for a zero-tolerance attitude like the City of New York in the 90s which led to a transformation of the inner city and a radical reduction of crime. Every \u2018broken window\u2019 should be fixed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A request to demolish and replace the corrugated-roof shelter, which serves as a bus stop in Klipfontein Road in Rondebosch, has been submitted to the City of Cape Town.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":51209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaeikestadnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"c66a7b62-c61a-4c80-a860-d463a976e4de","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_yoast_post_redirect_info":[],"_yoast_wpseo_video_meta":[],"activation_date":"","archive_insertion_is_repeating":"","archive_insertion_posts_count":"","article_feature_media":"","article_feature_type":"","article_main_image_caption":"","article_media_icon":"","article_template":"","author_byline":"Nettalie Viljoen (@nettalieviljoen)","background_color":"","block_editor":"","byline":"","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","competition_end_date":"","contact_advertise_email":"","contact_advertise_phone":"","contact_editorial_email":"","contact_general_email":"","contact_general_phone":"","contact_office_hours":"","contact_physical_address":"","enabled":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","featured_video_url":"","fields":"","font_body":"","font_header":"","frequency":"","headline":"","hide_border":"","icon":"","is_wp_suggestion":"","issuu_download_url":"","issuu_embed_url":"","language_version_url":"","large_border":"","name":"","nm_contact_name":"","nm_contact_number":"","nm_date_lost":"","no_overlay_background":"","node-url":"","obituary_born_date":"","obituary_died_date":"","obituary_memoriam_text":"","origin":"","overlay_color":"","overlay_opacity":"","overlay_size":"","placement":"","plural_label":"","post_author":"","post_id":"","post_language":"en","secret-key":"","sponsored_utm_campaign":"","sponsored_utm_content":"","sponsored_utm_medium":"","sponsored_utm_source":"","sponsored_utm_term":"","start_date":"","utm_suppression":"","video_embed_url":"","wp_pattern_sync_status":"","data_version":[],"enclosure":[],"pongrass_image":[],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"publication":[],"class_list":["post-51207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n