February 28, 2005
By Bafana Nzimande
WHILE many Joburgers are no doubt pleased about the approval of road closures in their neighbourhoods, they must bear in mind that the journey is not over.
"It does not mean the battle has been won when an applicant has been granted an approval because it still remains the responsibility of that particular community to make sure that they maintain all the post-approval processes to ensure that the closure does not infringe on traffic or human movement," says Raven Shabe, the marketing, public relations and communications manager of the Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA).
After a road closure is approved by the council, the applicant has to alert the public about the approval to avoid hindering traffic and human movement and also to invite public comment regarding the closure.
With minor help from the City, approved applications must be publicised in numerous advertisements paid for by the applicants. These include a once-off notice in local newspapers, a notice in the government gazette and a visible on-site notice that contains contact details for objections or public comment.
"Any road closure becomes effective only after the public has been notified about its approval," Shabe adds. "The on-site advert must remain in place for 30 days in order to invite comment from the public."
After 30 days the applicant is required to submit an affidavit accompanied by documents, to prove that the closure is backed by 80 percent of the residents, and photographs to guarantee that on-site advertisements were really in place for the 30 days.
The City will review all comments and objections received during this period, before the JRA becomes involved.
The JRA will submit its verdict recommendations to the City, which will give approved applicants one month to operate their closures to check whether they do comply with all the technical details before they are declared legal.
Shabe says, "After one month a site inspection will be conducted in order to verify compliance."
The road agency will conduct regular inspections to see that the applicants comply with the terms of approval, and to identify communities that still operate illegal road closures.
Applicants who fail to comply with the terms of approval after their applications have been approved, will be notified in writing by the JRA. They will have 10 days to respond or to comply with the terms of approval.
If the applicant does not comply with the terms of approval within those 10 days, the JRA will remove the road closure and reinstate the roads to the same condition or no worse than they were before the closure was installed, according to the Security Access Restriction Policy.
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
