False Bay owners fear drop in profit as rehabilitation project’s final phase starts

BUSINESS owners along the False Bay coast are bracing themselves for a knock in revenue following yesterday’s reinstatement of a stop/go system between the Kalk Bay Harbour entrance and Woolley’s Pool which, within hours, had caused major tailbacks.

Motorists will have to get used to the delays, however, as the project is only expected to be finished by December next year.

It is the third and final phase of the rehabilitation of Main Road covering a distance of just 4.5km – from Muizenberg, through St James, to just past Kalk Bay – which if finished on time will have taken nine years and cost R304 million.

The stop/go system was temporarily suspended for three months during the summer holidays at the request of local business owners. But, said Brett Herron, the mayco member for transport, work now had to go ahead.

New underground water mains, sewer pipes, stormwater pipes, street lighting, and fibre optic infrastructure needed to be installed while keeping both the existing bulk water supply pipe and the domestic supply main in operation.

Bart van Vuuren, the owner of Cape to Cuba in Kalk Bay, said his restaurant had taken a R2m knock in the past seven years during the lengthy road works.

He said he felt sorry for the small retail stores that didn’t make it and all the restaurateurs who had come and gone.

Van Vuuren added that he understood the job had to be done and was pleased it was being done well.

However, he wished the city would advertise in the media that Kalk Bay was still open for business and provide progress reports and tips on how best to get there.

His wife, Deona, asked why the work couldn’t be done at night.

However, Herron said noise and disturbance to residents were the main reasons.

Nicola Ferguson, the manager at Harbour House in Kalk Bay, said the stop/go system had affected business badly when it was in place last year.

She said some people arrived late for their bookings as they were caught in traffic, while others called en route to cancel, saying they weren’t prepared to wait in the long tailbacks.

Lukhona Mbanga, the manager at Easy Tiger on the Main Road, said he was extremely worried about the impact on business. “And now winter is just round the corner.” George Mandalios, of Kalky’s restaurant, said it had had an effect on business last time the stop/go was in place.

“But what can you do, the work has to go ahead.”

Tony Trimmel, the chairman of the Kalk Bay Ratepayers’' Association, said the Fish Hoek business community was also concerned about the impact of the reinstatement as motorists would opt for alternative routes.

“We’ve been sitting with these road works since 2008 already and there is concern about the tailbacks which go right through to Muizenberg.

‘We’ll also start seeing rat runs through residential areas in Kalk Bay as taxis especially look for short cuts.”

Greg Bing, one of the directors of AP Jones, said they were grateful to the contractors for keeping the two- way running throughout the season, but knew that now the stop/go was back it would have a negative impact on business.

“We know that we will start losing out again because people will use Ou Kaapseweg instead.”

Herron said the city was aware of the inconvenience caused, but said the future prosperity of the suburbs along Main Road relied on the investment the city made in providing for urbanisation and economic growth in the years to come.

“The significance of this project is even more obvious when one bears in mind that Main Road is one of only three access routes to the far south and that it currently carries about 19 000 vehicles a day.”

Herron said that once completed, the road was estimated to last at least another 30 years without the need for major maintenance.

He added that construction of the new retaining wall above the old Clovelly railway station should be completed by the end of the month.

This section would be widened so that motorists could parallel park and that there would be footways for pedestrians on the mountain and sea sides.

WE’VE BEEN SITTING WITH THESE ROAD WORKS SINCE 2008 AND THERE IS CONCERN ABOUT THE TAILBACKS, WHICH GO RIGHT THROUGH TO MUIZENBERG