Locals petition council
Residents of Sandpiper Road, Lower Old Place in Knysna bordering the Knysna Industrial area are upset with Knysna Municipality’s plans to permanently open a gate connecting their suburb to the industrial area.
Those living in Sandpiper Road say they were never informed of the municipality’s intention to open the gate, nor were residents involved in the process that led to the decision that the road should be permanently opened to trucks and construction vehicles.
Two of these residents, Anthony Colley and Jean Hagen, have now set up a petition to stop the process, as they say their complaints and objections to the municipality and their ward councillor Mark Willemse are not being answered. They are apprehensive about the possibility that their petition could fall on deaf ears though, as the municipality has already started erecting a height-restriction bar at the entrance to their road.
“Shamefully, council has resolved this matter without consulting any of the residents in the road. This decision will hugely impact our community and its residents,” says Colley, with Hagen nodding in agreement.
Concern over children’s safety
“Not only does it endanger the safety of our families – especially our children who often ride their bicycles in the road – but the pollution, noise and possible devaluation of our properties are a major concern. Already one of our neighbours are struggling to sell her home, and one of my daughters was nearly run over,” Colley adds.Colley says the issue started shortly after he moved to Knysna about a year ago. “Added to all our other concerns is the fact that the road just can’t take this heavy traffic and is already turning to gravel. I spent a lot of money on this property and have always dreamed of living here, but this is not how I imagined it would go. It’s becoming a terrible place to live,” he adds.
There are also motorbikes that race down their road, says Hagen, using a gap next to the gate to zip in and out of the industrial area. “These trucks and bikes are using our road as a shortcut from the N2, not concerned at all about the people who live here or for our safety. Why is the municipality sending this bypass through our road when there are already others further up the N2? Who made the decision? And why have we not been involved in the decision making?” Hagen wants to know.
At the time of going to print, the petition had already received close to 300 signatures.
Queries regarding the decision-making process and why the road needs to be used as a bypass, among other questions, were sent to the municipality. At the time of going to print no feedback was received.