The Democratic Alliance wants the deadline for residential boom gate applications to be extended. Illegal booms will be removed from Friday.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) wants the deadline for residential boom gate applications to be extended. Illegal booms will be removed from Friday.
The DA’s Mike Moriarty told restricting access to an area was one way to help fight crime. “People no longer talk about whether they will become a victim of crime, but when they will become one. As a result, citizens have been forced to find their own solutions to spiralling crime,” he said.
CARtoday.com reported last week that residents must submit applications for security access restrictions by July 17. About 1 000 boom gates in Johannesburg will be removed if residents miss Thursday’s deadline.
“Affected residents are requested to inform JRA of the existence of all closures in their areas to enable the agency to take appropriate action to either regularise their existence or alternatively, remove such closures that may be found not to be compliant with the city’s policy,” said JRA spokesperson Nonhlanhla Nxumalo.
Moriarty said some people used professional companies to help them, but those who tried to do it on their own needed more time. “Those who are trying to complete the applications on their own discovered that there was a lot of work to be done and could therefore not complete their applications on time,” Moriarty said.
Applications must give reasons for the road closure and submit crime statistics for their areas. They must show 80 per cent approval from the community and the right of freedom must not be restricted.
Applications should also include traffic impact studies on local roads. Closures may not cause long diversions for vehicles or pedestrians and, they may not interfere with access for emergency or maintenance vehicles.
Should extensions be granted?