Newly constructed cycle lane leaves motorists stranded

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Business operators at the Freedom Shopping Centre on Watt Street in Wynberg are upset about a bicycle lane constructed by the council, saying it replaced their parking bays.

The development leaves them with no option but to park in the road between 2nd and 3rd streets, which make them vulnerable to ticketing by the Joburg Metro police officers who harass them during peak hours.

Shop owner Vernon Moodley said they already pay hefty rentals and service levies and feel they are treated unfairly as employment creators. He said their plight was compounded by hawkers who traded freely on the lane, blocking their shops from potential customers. Their vehicles and the vehicles of those delivering orders were also ticketed by the officers who knew they didn’t have alternative parking.

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“This drives away our customers and discourages suppliers from delivering our orders,” he said. Amazingly, the lane stretches only the length of the business block and is fully equipped with cyclist warning signs.

“It’s nonsensical, hasn’t and will likely never been used,” said Moodley who is also a police reservist. Despite his law enforcement position, he claims that he was taunted by an officer who threw his police badge and other documents on the ground, saying they were fake.

Moodley doesn’t want to park at the Pan Africa Mall, as suggested by other officers, fearing that his vehicle and those of suppliers would be clamped and only released after paying hefty fines.

He alleged the officers didn’t harass taxi drivers who dropped off commuters despite the fact that the taxi rank at Yarona Building was only a few meters away.

Another businessman, Alex Aliferis who has operated from the building for 20 years raised the same concerns. “The problem has been raised at several sector business forums attended by Metro police and police officials, to no avail. Metro officers claim they ticket vehicles for illegal parking but there are no prohibition signs. In addition to a maximum of R18 000 monthly rental inclusive of service charges, I now incur additional costs from traffic fines and to retrieve impounded vehicles,” said Aliferis.

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He added that suppliers were hesitant to delivery to the area. He criticised council for the development which, according to him, was ‘moribund’. Aliferis said he felt the money should have been used for more pressing needs like housing. He added that they submitted their vehicle details to the authorities, hoping for relief, without success and will now petition higher authorities.

Metro police’s spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said they were aware of the matter but the parking area was for the public and not for business operators. He urged complainants to park in designated areas or seek recourse elsewhere.

“Vehicles parked illegally will be ticketed and impounded, depending on the nature of the offence, as they endanger other road users,” he said.

Minnaar added that hawkers were not restricted from operating in the area except if they traded in cooked food.

He stressed that the lane was part of an ongoing alternative city transport network for cyclists, linking Alex with other areas in the city.

The area councillor Jeffrey Pietersen said he would convene a meeting of concerned parties and relevant council departments to attend to the problem.

Details: Vernon Moodley 074 308 1702, Alex Aliferis 071 676 9379, Councillor Jeffrey Pietersen 082 427 3034.