Our Chamber of Commerce was delighted to read the of the announcement by the Minister of Transport, Mr Fikile Mbalula, that investments were to be made in upgrading the rail service. The sooner that some heavy loads can be conveyed by rail instead of by road, the better it will be for our town.
The roads in and around Velddrif are taking strain because of the heavy trucks that drive through. Plus, of course, we are inconvenienced by the noise and the vibrations they cause.
Many of you already know that the R27 is a provincial road: it ends at the junction of Voortrekker Road 1. Our municipality thus has no jurisdiction over road signs, improvements or design of that road. This of course impacts on our municipality and on us, the residents. There are many complaints about the crossing of the R27 and Voortrekker Road: The only action our municipality can take is to approach the Provincial Roads Department and request them to take action.
We as the Chamber of Commerce can join hands with other civil society groups such as homeowners, churches and so on, to approach the Provincial authorities together with the municipality about this problem. We can also approach politicians. We have invited Mr Alan Winde, Premier of the Western Cape, to meet with us in early February, and this is one of the items we plan to put on the agenda.
National Department of Transport. RDDA: South African Numbered Route Description and Destination Analysis. May 2012. Page 43.
Source: Joan Du Plessis (Assistance in Document Analysis & Design)
