The NKRA is grateful for the support provided in the 4th Street park by our park sponsors RUSSELL FISHER PROPERTIES and VISION TACTICAL SECURITY and the KILLARNEY MALL, and for the street cleaning services provided by RCS SECURITY SERVICES.

PGPPGPPGP PGP

NKRA Communique – April 2022

Hi everyone

The Covid-19 pandemic is not yet over, and experts are now talking about a “Fifth Wave”. Although the State of Disaster has ended, there are still regulations in place. In a nutshell, we still need to wear masks when inside an indoor public place, no person may use any form of public transport unless wearing a face mask and, for any indoor gatherings, a maximum of 50% of the venue capacity may be occupied. Please continue to be careful.

Next time you take a walk in The Wilds, consider crossing over the bridge to the east. James Delaney and his team have done a huge amount of valuable work here – paths fixed, erosion prevented, new plantings and existing plants separated and seeded, benches with mosaic details, Highveld grassland restored, new signage, and amazing new viewpoints. This part of The Wilds faces north, so it’s hotter and has a very different microclimate to the West Wilds. Many thanks to James and his team, for this selfless effort on behalf of the people of Johannesburg.

James is fundraising to continue this valuable work, including specifically to get the water flowing in the West Wilds’ water features again, as well as to build a sensory path suitable for wheelchairs and visually impaired walkers. Please visit this link – there are artworks available, and prizes to be won: https://thundafund.com/project/6716626611220467.  Please also share this news and this link with all your friends too.

Thank you to James also for these beautiful photographs.

We have been requesting suggestions from residents to uplift 1st Street, and one suggestion was to address the Martindale wall in 1st Street. The NKRA does not undertake projects unless we have a consensus from the members, so we circulated the suggestion to the members for comment. The limited response received thus far has been largely negative, so it seems unlikely that the NKRA will proceed with that idea. However if specific residents would like to contribute to an independent project, please would you get in touch with me?

The latest debacle with water pipe repairs was a total horror-show. The water pipes will continue to burst as they get older, and the roads and pavements will continue to be damaged in the process as well. Private plumbers are not allowed to touch municipal infrastructure, so there is nothing anybody can do except wait for Joburg Water to get their act together. Many buildings are installing water tanks to provide their residents with a buffer supply of clean water while we repeatedly endure the miserable municipal service provision.

On the bright side, at least the pipes and cables are actually being repaired and replaced, however erratically – so it shows that the municipality has not entirely disintegrated just yet. It would be great if they could fix things properly the first time, but half a loaf is better than nothing.

We have also been told that the various excavations on the pavements will all be fixed at one swoop when all the digging is finished, and when all the soil has had a chance to compact – otherwise there will soon be subsidence again. Time will tell.

The sink-hole in Riviera Road, at the intersection of 2nd Avenue, is still a danger. This is a high-traffic area, and the hole is deep enough to damage a car. It has been reported, but nothing has been done yet. Please would you all continue to report this danger to JRA. Please also drive very carefully on Riviera Road, as the depth of that sink-hole is substantial.

We would be grateful for any other ideas on how to uplift 1st Street, or Killarney in general. We are getting disillusioned about fixing pavements again, because they get dug up again so often. However because the City takes so long to fix pavements, and because the safety of pavements is very important to us, we need to continually consider fixing the pavements ourselves.

Stolen manhole covers constitute a serious danger on our pavements, and replacing missing manhole covers is a good idea. We have attempted this a few times in the past, but we have found that these old covers are a variety of different sizes, and the new synthetic covers are not the same sizes or thickness as the old iron covers that we need to replace, so the new covers will not fit into the existing frames. If anybody knows from where we can get appropriate covers, please let us know.

Cleaning litter and weeds on pavements or in gutters adds a lot of value, and it is especially important to remove broken alcohol bottles – partly because they create a very bad impression, and partly because they obviously pose a danger to small children.

We have still not received feedback from the Mall regarding our list of suggestions on how to accommodate a taxi facility on their property. However at a recent municipal tribunal to consider amending their servitude restrictions, they did commit to not building anything further without proper municipal authorisation, and it was clarified that the resolution of the taxi situation would be linked to any future projects. However residents have recently observed surveyors measuring and mapping in the street outside the Clicks entrance. We have not been informed of any such work, so once again it raises a red flag. Please all keep an eye open, and shout urgently if you see anybody starting to build anything in that area. We are also following up with the municipal enforcement department on their enforcement plans, if any.

As the winter sets in, the sun obviously goes down earlier and rises later. This makes criminals on the streets bolder, especially just before sunrise and after sunset. Please continue to be especially careful on the pavements around those times, and try to improve your pavement lighting around your entrances if needed.

We have two WhatsApp groups to keep the community informed about crime issues, and water and power outages, etc. The ward councillor posts regular updates about municipal issues as well. We do not allow marketing of goods and services on either of these groups. All residents are welcome to join. The links are at:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/CwIkOtL2qwP0RX51ADuZkX

https://chat.whatsapp.com/EI45D5H4SQYC87x7EH5oWc.

Thus far, 36 buildings out of the 55 sectional title buildings in Killarney-Riviera have already paid the 2022 membership subscription to the NKRA – this is about 65% of the total. Many thanks indeed to these buildings for your on-going support. The current list of the members for 2022 is as follows:

  1. Berkeley Square
  2. Beverley Heights
  3. Biarritz
  4. Brenthurst Court
  5. Bretton Woods
  6. Canterbury Close
  7. Chartwell
  8. Chelston Hall
  9. Christina Court
  10. Cranwell Hall
  11. Daventry Court
  12. Devon Place
  13. Earls Court
  14. Gleneagles
  15. Glenhof Gardens
  16. Greenhills
  17. Hampshire Mews
  18. Hyde Court
  19. Interlaken
  20. Killarney Court & Gardens
  21. Killarney Hills
  22. Killarney Park
  23. Killarney Village
  24. Kingsborough
  25. La Camargue
  26. Mentone Court
  27. Monviso
  28. Park Avenue
  29. Portofino
  30. Rapallo
  31. Riviera Mansions
  32. Santa Margherita
  33. Sevenoaks
  34. Splice Riviera
  35. The Rivieras
  36. Whitehall Court

If your building does make a membership contribution, please ask your managing agent to include the reference number as well, so as to facilitate the allocation of the payment on our side.

We once again have enough funds to undertake small projects to enhance our suburb. We will never have enough money to do everything that needs doing, but we can at least do a few things, and every little bit makes a difference. Please would all residents contribute ideas for projects?

Please would NKRA members give us feedback on the issues described above? We also welcome all suggestions from all residents, on all issues.

Best wishes to all, keep well, and keep safe.

Wayne Ford