NKRA Communique – March 2025

Hi everyone

We held our March NKRA public meeting via the internet on Wednesday 19 March 2025. The key issues arising from that meeting are included in this newsletter. Our next NKRA public meeting will be held at 18h30 on Wednesday 16 April 2025. All residents and owners of Killarney and Riviera are welcome to participate. An agenda with a Microsoft Teams meeting link will be circulated in due course.

On Saturday 12^th April, the Killarney Mall will again hold their Easter in the Park community event. This event was a big success last year. The activities for children will include an Easter Egg Hunt, among other things. There will also be vendors selling coffee and various snacks. While this event is obviously aimed primarily at families with smaller children, this is also a chance for community members of all ages to relax and socialise together in the fresh air. The Killarney Mall marketing manager has assured us that the event will cause minimal noise and disturbance. The festivities will start around 10am, lasting until about 3pm, and entrance (as always) is free for everyone. Residents can still use the park for other activities at the same time, if you wish.  

The repainting of the street names on the kerbs has been completed, and various inspections have been conducted on the work done. It seems that the only errors were on the signs in 7^th Street at the traffic circle. We will get the contractor to address this shortly. Residents are asked to check all the signs near your homes, and to report any errors or other issues urgently.

New mosaic street-name signs can still be obtained, at a cost of about R1250 each. However, one of these new mosaic signs in 5^th Street has been badly damaged recently – presumably by a vehicle. This raises concerns about the suitability of this material for this application. More research is clearly required.

There are currently a number of serious potholes in our streets, as well as a number of large excavations caused by municipal entities in the process of repairing water pipes and power cables etc. On the bright side, this does at least indicate that some municipal repair work is still being done. These excavations are only resurfaced once the soil has been compacted properly, otherwise there will soon be subsidence and yet more problems. Joburg Water specifically uses all their budget to repair the pipes and reduce water loss, and they tend to leave the final resurfacing of the road until they have “spare” resources.

Over time, potholes in the road get steadily worse, especially when we are having a lot of rain. Much of 2^nd Avenue, in particular, has now deteriorated very badly, and in the block between 1^st Street and 2^nd Street, large patches of the tar surface have completely eroded away. This stretch is now quite dangerous for cars, as well as for bicycles and pedestrians.

We also have serious potholes in 10^th Street, where the road is splitting lengthways, and elsewhere. We continue to ask the Ward councillor for help, and we have sent her numerous reference numbers and photographs. The Councillor has undertaken to ask the JRA people to address our concerns as an urgent safety issue. In addition, we will again approach the Discovery Pothole Patrol for possible assistance.

We have discussed that the NKRA should begin a fresh process of repairing potholes. It is not practical to spend too much time driving around with a truckload of hot asphalt in very cold weather, because the asphalt quickly cools on the truck and is then useless. It was therefore agreed that our next pothole project should address a small number of locations, so as to limit the time spent in loading, unloading and driving around. For the next project, we therefore propose to address the deep split in 10^th Street, and then to use the rest of the material to resurface the major potholes in 2^nd Avenue – unless the JRA fixes these issues for us first.

Unfortunately, we have recently noted that the municipality is fining residents who repair roads. The reasons are a bit uncertain, although you can actually cause damage to the road if you do a road repair incorrectly. The NKRA has therefore always used a service provider who occasionally works for the JRA as well, so that presumably they are properly skilled, and will work to the JRA quality requirements. We have asked our ward councillor to approach the municipality to help us understand what we are allowed to do for our suburb, and how we need to go about doing it from now on.

Meanwhile, it is safe to continue putting loose rubble and sand in the deeper holes to improve safety, while we wait for an answer. Please be aware that some holes contain a valve, so a new manhole needs to be constructed before they can be filled up and tarred over.

The Community Upliftment Initiative continues to add value, mainly by running regular “Themba Cleanup Projects”. Themba Mhlope visits Killarney every Wednesday to clear the accumulated pavement rubbish, and every Saturday to do other upliftment projects, such as clearing weeds and filling potholes with rubble, etc. This is part of our efforts to avoid the Broken Window Syndrome, whereby unresolved dirt and deterioration attracts even more dirt and deterioration. Residents are invited to submit their suggestions for future upliftment projects as well. If you are interested in helping with these upliftment projects, you can join in at: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KA4ejvnpF6pGjFg9SJ3KEn.

Our project to improve the lighting on the pavements will be focusing on the 4^th Avenue bridge, the car park in 7^th Street, and the pavement of Riviera Road outside Daventry Court. The lighting on the pavement of Riviera Road is very difficult to correct, due to the design of the perimeter wall, and the distance from the wall to the building itself. The existing lights on the pillars of the perimeter wall are not strong enough to properly illuminate the pavement, and installing bigger globes can’t work because of physical size constraints. We are therefore researching the option to repair the pavement surface, to make it safer for pedestrians to walk along in poor light. The easiest approach is probably to use all the exiting concrete paving
stones to form a narrow walkway that is fully level and safe, and then to fill the remaining areas with gravel, or grass.

Illegal hawkers and illegal drinking on pavements continues, despite the wet weather. We need to keep on reporting these incidences to the JMPD, and asking for reference numbers. JMPD allocates their resources based on the apparent severity of the issue, so the more often an issue is reported, the better are our chances of receiving service. Each reported issue can then be copied to the ward councillor, who will escalate these issues via the channels.

We still have an on-going risk of cell-phone snatching on pavements, and pickpockets. We need to keep reminding buildings of the danger, and encouraging them to place some of their private security guards outside on the pavement whenever a resident or visitor is standing out there. They should also warn residents and visitors to be alert as well. The new laws restricting the use of CCTV cameras will severely impact on our security strategies, but we are told that there is a lot of political and social resistance to this, so these laws might yet change.

Ubers have apparently been the target of criminals of late. Either it’s the driver himself who is targeted, or the passengers are followed home from malls, nightclubs etc and targeted as they exit the vehicle. Please remain vigilant at all times.

Our representative for the Hillbrow Community Policing Forum is Floh, who has done this job for quite some time. However, Floh’s business now requires him to spend a lot of his time travelling overseas, and we need to find a volunteer to replace him in this important role. The value of the CPF comes from building relationships with the SAPS commanders and the JMPD commanders, so we would ideally like to have a stable person who can attend the monthly CPF meetings for an extended period. These meetings happen once a month, usually on the first Wednesday night at 18h30, at the Hillbrow police station. There is safe parking under the building, but it is often easier to use an Uber. We thank Floh for his valuable service.

The community street walks continue to add value, by maintaining a presence on the street. There have been two kinds of walking groups up to now – groups which walk to socialise and exercise, and groups which specifically engage with the loiterers etc. It seems that many of the regular walkers prefer the social walks, and feel that the security patrols should be left to trained security people. It has therefore been decided from now on to focus only on the social walks, and to rebrand these groups as “Community Night WALKR’s” rather than Street Patrollers. These walks will now take place on Wednesday nights (weather permitting), and additional walks will be held on an alternating basis on Friday nights, Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. Those people who are interested in security patrolling can continue separately. We will see how this format works, and more tweaks can obviously be made in the future as we go. Residents are encouraged to join in, and you can contact these “Night WALKR’s” at: https://chat.whatsapp.com/DsR92XsjIU49JLvv1pAHCI

RCS Security have offered us some suggestions on staying safe whilst exercising outdoors:

• Try to avoid a standard route or routine, as criminals may notice and wait for you.
• Ensure that your loved ones are aware of your intended route and timing, so that they know where to look for you if you are late returning home.
• Try to exercise in a group, because there is safety in numbers, and a single person alone is more likely to be targeted.
• Don’t wear jewellery or other expensive items that might attract attention, and try to keep your phone or smart-watch etc concealed if possible.
• Be Visible: Ensure that you wear bright colours, as well as reflectors and/or head lamps if you are exercising in bad light.

Vision Tactical Security have patrol cars in Killarney, and they are willing to react to all reports of criminal activity. If you notice any suspicious behaviour, you can contact the Vision Tactical control room on 084 222 2222, or on 010 972 2600, or on 061 071 2001. The two Vision Tactical response vehicles are on 072 830 5305, and on 071 570 5173. We thank Vision Tactical for this community-minded service.

Regarding the “trolley recyclers”, a group of residents had an informal “coffee meeting” with an organisation called ARO, which liaises with the recyclers themselves. They provide support to individual recyclers at a membership fee of R150 per annum, which includes providing them with equipment and an ID badge. We are now waiting for ARO to finish researching the existing situation in Killarney, after which they will meet with us again to suggest solutions. This will be a slow process. Meanwhile, we should all be doing pre-sorting of plastic and carboard etc, to assist our local recyclers to sift out the valuable materials quickly and easily.

The situation with Estate Agency sign boards has been getting progressively worse over time, and the negative impressions it is creating have now reached a tipping point. A bit of research shows that a number of estate agencies are putting up more boards than the by-laws allow. This is creating the impression that Killarney has a serious problem, and that the Killarney property owners are desperate to sell and leave. The community has resolved to address the problem, using the legal channels, but we also agreed to first approach each of the agencies in question on a friendly basis, to appeal to them to comply voluntarily. In addition to the municipal by-laws, in Killarney we have long required that all boards are removed during the week. Councillor Huggett will request that the relevant municipal department conduct regular drive-through inspections in Killarney, to ensure compliance.

The NKRA Community Gardens project was very successful in the summer, and the new winter seedlings are already being planted. The gardening team is holding regular planting days at present. They will also need additional volunteer labour, to help with weeding and watering in winter. It is intended eventually to expand the veggie-beds, and the required expenditure will be discussed at future meetings, once they know what support will be needed. We have received generous donations of garden-ready compost, seemingly enough to cover the needs of the initial winter garden. Meanwhile we continue to encourage individual buildings to plant food gardens on their pavements. You can contact these wonderful neighbours at: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Cjh3eJl57pv1XcoQ7OEBj9

The Killarney Mall refurbishment progress is still dragging on. Our most recent feedback from the Mall Centre Manager is as follows: “The current proposal is with the architect and other professionals for their review and feedback. Once we receive their input, I will provide you with an update.” They have said that they won’t come to us with any plans until they are confident that those plans are both viable and legal, so as to avoid creating expectations and rumours, which might later lead to disappointment, damaged relationships and loss of trust.

“Membership” of the NKRA is voluntary, but for residential buildings it requires an annual membership “subscription” of R50 per each unit in the building (with a maximum of R4,000 per building). In the case of businesses, we request a flat amount of R4,000 per annum. Only representatives of member buildings can vote on decisions, but all property owners, residents and employees of businesses in the suburbs of Killarney and Riviera are welcome to attend and participate in our public meetings. You can contact us at wdford@global.co.za to be added to our mailing list. If your trustees have changed since last year, please would you let us have the contact details of the current trustees.

The invoices for the 2025 membership subscriptions were sent out to the various buildings in March. So far 22 buildings out of the 55 sectional title buildings in Killarney-Riviera have already paid their 2025 subscriptions – this is about 40% of the total. The list of the members for this year so far are as follows:

• Berkeley Square
• Beverley Heights
• Biarritz
• Bolton Hall
• Bretton Woods
• Canterbury Close
• Chelston Hall
• Christina Court
• Daventry Court
• Devon Place
• Gleneagles
• Glenhof Gardens
• Greenhills
• Highbury
• Hyde Court
• Knightsbridge
• Monviso
• Park Avenue
• Portofino
• Riviera Villas
• Splice
• The Rivieras

Many thanks indeed to all these buildings for your on-going support, and also to the various people who make personal donations as well. This support enables us to undertake small projects, for the benefit of us all.

The motto of the NKRA is “Safer, Cleaner, Better, Greener”. If you have any specific ideas and suggestions to help us implement this vision, please do share them urgently. Otherwise, our primary focuses for 2025 will continue to be as follows:

• Managing the squatter and hawker and taxi and street-drinking problems in Killarney;
• Reducing the various crime risks, including specifically the risk of pickpockets and phone-snatching on the pavements, and improving the street-lighting;
• Building up a sustainable “Night WALKR’s” social walking group;
• Expanding the Community Gardens Project to grow food for persons in need;
• Undertaking projects where possible, including cleaning and beautifying the pavements and other visible public spaces, expanding the existing Themba Upliftment Projects by means of additional fundraising, and improving relationships with the trolley-recyclers.

We are happy to receive photos of interesting things that might be happening in our area, which we might include in future newsletters. We also welcome all inputs, on all issues. All interested persons can contact us at wdford@global.co.za to be added to the mailing list. Our website is at www.nkra.org.za.

Our next public meeting will be held at 18h30 on Wednesday 16 April 2025. All owners and residents of Killarney and Riviera are welcome to participate. An agenda with a Microsoft Teams meeting link will be circulated in due course.

Please would you share this newsletter with all your neighbours in Killarney-Riviera?

Keep well, and keep safe.

.

City emergency hotline on 011 375 5911

Councillor Huggett – by SMS or WhatsApp – 071 785 8068

JMPD call centre hotline number – 080 872 3342

JMPD Control Room – 011 758 9620

JMPD number to report Homeless People camping in the vicinity – 011 490 1538

JMPD number to report Illegal Dumping – 011 490 1684

JMPD number to report Noise Pollution – 011 718 9684

JMPD number to report Illegal Advertising – 011 490 1547

JMPD number to report Illegal Trading – 011 490 1744

JMPD number to report other By-Law issues – 011 490 1684

To report a water leak: 24-hour hotline – 0860 562 874 or 011 688 1699