Control the holiday madness

WE BELIEVE the time has come to limit the number of people invading our town at year-end, particularly on New Year’s Day.

People will continue to exploit our beautiful facilities because there are no rules – free access, drinking in public, parking anywhere, making a noise, littering without threat, and we, the local ratepayers, will foot the bill for the after-hours clean-up.

We ask the powers that be to seriously consider the following proposals in order to properly manage the situation for the enjoyment of both the visitors and the residents.

the number of cars allowed in a particular area, and when the limit is reached, people must find an alternative venue;

an entry fee of R50 per car. This will offset the wages of the marshals and the cleaners;

pavements of private residential properties strictly out of bounds as no-one wants people lighting fires, playing loud music or shouting outside their residence;

will require more manpower to police the entry points to each zone and to determine when each area is deemed to be filled to capacity, so that no more cars may be allowed through the entry point; and

extensive pre-season advertising campaign promoting the new rules should be rolled out so that people are fully aware of the proposed procedures.

In this way, Port Alfred will remain the holiday destination of choice but under controlled conditions.