Woodstock Residents Association

In a meeting of our steering committee on 17 June 2009 UWRA decided on the following proposals to deal with the increasing traffic and parking problems in our area: 

• Red (no parking) lines to be painted on the corners of Roodebloem Road with respectively Palmerston Road; Balfour Street; Chamberlain Street; Salisbury Street; and Lawley Road.
• Red lines to be painted on all pedestrian crossings.
• Warning signs to be placed on Roodebloem Road (above and below Salisbury Street) in both directions, reading:

This is a residential area

Respect the speed limit

Watch out for pedestrians

• Additional visible speed limit signs to be placed in Roodebloem Road.
• Two additional pedestrian crossings to be placed in Roodebloem Road below Salisbury Street.
• All pedestrian crossings in Roodebloem Road to be marked with flashing warning lights.
• The corner of Roodebloem Road and Salisbury Street to be marked with flashing warning lights.
• The traffic department to supply a traffic official (“lollipop man”) for the pedestrian crossing in Roodebloem Road closest to Chamberlain Street in the morning and afternoon at school opening and closing hours.
• Lawley Road (coming into Roodebloem Road) to be turned into a Stop Street.

These proposals have many times been suggested and requested by our community in public meetings and in correspondence.

In addition to all this we need to speak to Council’s Traffic Department about curbing the use of large parts of Woodstock as a rat run during traffic peak hours.

We hope that somebody from the Traffic Department will be at our General Meeting on 22 July to answer our queries.

City Council is inviting everybody to comment on the Draft Public Parks By-law, which aims: “To regulate the admission of persons, animals and vehicles to public parks; to provide for the use and enjoyment of public parks; to determine conduct that will not be permitted within public parks; and to provide for matters incidental thereto.”

Comments must be submitted before 15 July 2009.

Follow this link: http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/Pages/DraftPublicParksBy-law.aspx

The City of Cape Town has initiated several Social Housing projects all over the city.

There is sometimes a misconception about what Social Housing actually is. Maybe it is easiest to start by explaining what it is not. It is not RDP housing and it is not Council Rental Housing.

Social Housing is good quality, medium density rental housing in well-located, attractive and safe parts of the City. The projects are well-managed by Not-for-Profit Housing companies in partnership with the City of Cape Town. The housing is meant for households with an income of R 2000 – R 7500, who will be paying rent for the units and who want to live in areas with good access to transport and social and economic opportunities.

How does Social Housing affect Woodstock ? The City Council initiated 4 projects in the greater Woodstock area. Two of these are in Salt River : Pickwick Road and Salt River Market. The other two are in Upper Woodstock: Dillon Lane and Victoria Walk/Melbourne Road.

In a progress report of April 2008 it was stated that NO further work is being done on the Victoria Walk/Melbourne Road project. This area is a Public Open Space and City Council is quite serious about preserving the Public Open Spaces and so is UWRA and the surrounding community. UWRA has made this clear to Council in the Woodstock Development Framework.

The Dillon Lane project plans for the building of 60 units. The plans are in quite an advanced stage, but the land lease agreement between Council and the Housing Company still needs to be finalised. The start of the project is expected in March 2009 and the building work should then be finished by July 2009.

We attach the Progress Report here, so you can see exactly what is happening.

CCT Social Housing Progress Report April 2008