The City’s forgotten child

D Beelders, Vasco

At a recent Greater Tygerberg Partnership conference, the Mayco member for finance, Johan van der Merwe, announced a R1.4 million upgrade for the Voortrekker Road business districts: Salt River to Bellville.

Independent Newspapers regularly reports on Parow and Bellville VRCID graded areas, yet mostly crime appears to be thriving, with very little improvement taking place.

However, since 2002, the then-Tygerberg municipality approved a Voortrekker Road Triangle upgrade, envisaging a “safe and desirable place to live and work”.

Since being engulfed into the metropole there have been a number of meetings with businesses, police and so on, which have all petered out.

Recently a resident promised to get VRCID status for the area. In the interim, crime flourishes in every facet, murders and stabbings are “normal”, nobody and nothing is safe.

The creeping degradation of properties increases by the day.

Even the illustrious promise by GrandWest to rejuvenate the area came to nought under a former ward councillor. As lawlessness increases, so the absolute frustration of residents increases as well. The greater Goodwood area has become the “weggooi-kind” of the City council.

Communication between residents and ward representatives has never been worse.