Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Residents celebrate upgrade to fishing site
THE multimillion-rand upgrades at Fisherman’s Lane in Strandfontein have started.
Work commenced at the braai area and the sewage piping at the back on Monday and it’s all joy for the community activists who have been fighting for years for these renovations.
In September, the Weekend Argus reported the City had announced its readiness to implement the upgrades after criticism it allegedly discriminated against fishermen if the area was compared to False Bay’s more affluent neighbourhoods.
Now, with construction under way, mayoral committee member for spatial planning and environment Eddie Andrews said access to the area would not be restricted during the festive season – only the contractor’s camp site area would be closed to the public.
He said the work on the “broken road” and various other areas would start after the school holidays and builders’ break in January.
“Only the contractor’s site will be closed to the public over the festive season. These areas of the site will be closed as and when required during the construction period,” said Andrews.
Construction would include the demolishing and removal of a section of the disintegrated road and sea wall, the extension of the existing rock revetment to protect the main parking area, the upgrading of the existing parking area and the western car park, a new road to connect the picnic area to the car park, a boardwalk through the stormwater retention area, and replacing the western parking with asphalt roads.
Andrews said this was all within a nearly R25 million budget, which would also cover the costs of “construction, consulting services and professional services”.
Andre Arendse of the Strandfontein Ratepayers Forum and Economic Development welcomed the project, saying it was a victory after a prolonged struggle between the community and the municipality.
He raised concerns over the planned access road linking the western and the eastern parking lots adjacent to the play area, saying it could be a danger.
However, Andrews said the plan included the installation of speed humps to slow down vehicles.
Local fisherman Keith Blake said the public should celebrate the progress and keep in mind it was not mainly for the benefit of Strandfontein but the rest of the Cape Flats. He thanked the City of Cape Town for keeping its word.