Honeydew’s roads receive overdue attention
HONEYDEW – Road issues on Cranberry and Blueberry streets are now a thing of the past.
Joburg Roads Agency haS recently been in Honeydew to fix long-standing issues in roads around Beyers Naudé Drive.
As was confirmed by Bertha Peters-Scheepers, operations manager of communications and marketing for Joburg Roads Agency, maintenance work for the road markings and street names on Blueberry Street were scheduled for 2 September as the entity had ‘noted the concerns raised by residents’.
However, road markings down Blueberry Street had already been given a fresh coat of paint on 1 September. The turning arrows on the road are still to be maintained but the new white lines are an improvement to the road.
Yet, street names are still a problem in the Honeydew area, where most of the roadside names are faded or misspelt. Most of the streets in Honeydew also do not have street sign poles.
Ward 97 councillor Leah Knott commented that the entity has been maintaining the road markings from Strubens Valley to Radiokop of late. “There was about a day turnaround time for the markings. We have never had such a response.”
She added that residents who wish to log road markings or stop signs should do so separately and would need to give very specific requests to get the desired results. These requests need to be logged with the roads agency at hotline@jra.org.za where one should allow for a seven-day turnaround time. If it is not done within this time, Knott said residents can contact her so that she can escalate the matter.
At about the same time as the road markings were painted, potholes on Cranberry Street had become a nightmare. Cranberry Street is a generally busy road because of the number of stores and business parks in the area. Therefore, a combination of large vehicles and an inefficient road drainage system have caused potholes to increase in size and depth over time. As of the beginning of September, you no longer need to dodge potholes as each one has been patched up.
Knott is convinced that the joy of a pothole-free road will not last long. “With the next rains, these patches will unseal and the potholes will get worse. The whole road needs to be resurfaced. This road is similar to Hole-In-One Avenue, which also needs resurfacing, and other roads in Ruimsig where there is not enough drainage on the roads.”
She said she will be monitoring Cranberry Street’s potholes as loose stones have already begun coming off the edges of these patches.
Scheepers also said, “The JRA encourages residents to report issues concerning road and storm water issues to 086 056 2874, hotline@jra.org.za or @MyJra on twitter. JRA even has an award-winning JRA Find&Fix mobile app, so that we may be of service.”
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