Summary:
- The City’s solid waste department has undertaken to clean Wellington Avenue, Piers Road, the area around Maynardville Park and three green areas between Wellington, Kemms and Flamingo Road once a week.
- This is thanks to the relentless efforts of two Wynberg residents who refused to take no for an answer.
- All residents can help by keeping the street area outside their homes clean.
IF YOU’VE NOTICED that some streets in Wynberg are looking more pristine than before, your eyes would not have been be deceiving you.
That’s thanks to Ian McClenaghan, WRRA exco member in charge of cleansing and a man who has for months been meeting with and petitioning a large number of people connected to the City and its cleansing departments.
Ian McClenaghan, WRRA exco member in charge of cleansing
“We recently moved to Wynberg and are very happy living in a suburb where it’s possible to walk to shops, restaurants, the library and especially Maynardville Park,” Ian explains.
“I’ve always enjoyed a walk around the neighbourhood in the evenings. My first visit to Maynardville Park was late one afternoon, and I found a park that was pristine; a lovely example of a proper neighbourhood park. The contrast, walking back home was terrible – the side streets were filthy and full of litter.”
This worried him particularly as before he lived in Newlands, where the streets were always impeccable.
So Ian, who stays in Wellington Avenue, set to work with his friend Ross Finck, a Kemms Road resident. Together they lodged a request on the City’s website. They spoke to the Wynberg Improvement District. They met with The Haven. Ian joined the WRRA exco and set up a cleansing portfolio. They patiently wrote endless emails, many of which went unanswered. They petitioned and met with the ward councillor. They drove around the suburb with City’s waste management officials, pointing out problem areas. They checked into the Expanded Public Works Programme.
At last, after being sent from pillar to post for many weeks, Ian and Ross met up with Deon McDillon, manager of the City’s department for solid waste. And things started to happen.
Deon did not have the funds to clean the whole of Wynberg every single week, but he did undertake to do the following:
- Clean Wellington Road once a week
- Clean Piers Road and the area around Maynardville Park once a week.
- Clean the three green areas between Wellington, Kemms and Flamingo Road once a week.
Sherard Square is also looking much better, Ian reports.
“Wynberg south of Maynardville is much cleaner than it was a few months ago,” he says, but cautions, “we must remain vigilant and continue to follow up.”
Note: The Wynberg Improvement District (WID) employs nine permanent cleaners in the area covered by them.
WHAT WE CAN DO
As the City of Cape Town has limited resources, Ian and Ross urge private residents to take responsibility for their own streets.
“Part of the success in the areas above was that neighbours also became involved,” Ian says.
“Just keep an eye on the area outside your own front gate. Sweep the pavement once a week and remove any rubble that should not be there. If you employ a gardener or gardening service, add keeping part of the street clean to their job description.”
Wynberg Residents and Ratepayers Association 