June 8, 2005
By Lucky Sindane
EXTREME sports is coming to Alex - a skateboard park is to be built at the Number 3 Square sports complex. This is a first for a township anywhere in the country.
While many of Alex's children ride skateboards on the streets, they have not had the opportunity to build on their skills, taking them to performance level.
The skateboard park will have an 80m ramp built to international standards. Yet it will be just one of the facilities at the sports complex. Close to London Road, there is easy access from the N3 highway and the northern suburbs of Johannesburg, and it is within reach of the residents of Alexandra.
Number 3 Square is undergoing a major upgrade; existing facilities are being enhanced, while new ones are being built, including a swimming pool, combi courts, a soccer field, cricket nets, a clubhouse, and a multipurpose hall.
Desmond Sweke, the director of Settlement Planning Services, says the project will not only upgrade the quality of life and the environment in the township, but "will facilitate the integration of Alexandra into the greater Sandton area through sport and recreation".
It is the skateboard park, however, that looks set to be the centre of attraction for the local community. "Skateboarding is one of the major sports in Alexandra. It takes the kids off the street," Sweke says.
Extreme sports
On the subject of extreme skateboarding, he says, "Many people view extreme sports as something white people do; we want to change that perception."
Township youngsters have not been exposed to such sports yet, but Sweke is determined to change that.
The upgrading of the sports complex is part of the urban renewal programme under way in Alexandra. "The project started a year-and-a-half ago and Settlement Planning Services (Setplan) was appointed the urban designers of the project," Sweke says.
The township, in the north-east of Johannesburg, is one of eight urban nodes identified by the national government to receive intensive attention to boost its economic and social development.
Alexandra Renewal Project
The Alexandra Renewal Project will take about seven years to complete and cost R1,3-billion. It is managed by the Gauteng department of housing and the City of Johannesburg, with the aim of upgrading living conditions and human development potential within Alexandra.
It was designed to deliver housing, roads, water, sanitation, schools, clinics, magistrates' offices and police stations to the township.
Because of space constraints, in the past priority was given to other developments over public open spaces and recreational areas. Open spaces in Alexandra are few and far between, and the community makes much use of any available land - at schools and at existing sports clubs - for physical activities.
"Because of the over-use of facilities, bad management and the continuous growth in the demand for sporting facilities, there has been a growing need to redevelop existing facilities."
Sweke points out that skateboarding will be an Olympic discipline - for the first time - at the next Olympic Games, in 2008 in Beijing, China. The timing of the Alex skateboard park is right to give young athletes a place to train ahead of the international competition.
"Yes, it is a dangerous sport, but we are going to train staff to become paramedics. They will be based at the complex."
Those skateboarders who prove to be talented will get sponsorships and "whenever they win a competition any money they win will be deposited into a bank account for them", Sweke says.
Number 3 Square
The upgrading of Number 3 Square will take place in three phases.
Phase one, which has five separate 'packages' is set to be completed by the end of October 2005. "An estimated R3-million has been set aside for phase one," Sweke says.
Package one: Earthworks - the upgrading of western walls and gates, cricket slab, earthworks and retaining walls, storm water and drainage, and paving and landscaping of new parking next to skate park.
Package two: Landscaping - cricket nets and pitch, trees and landscaping, irrigation of soccer field, trim banks of soccer field, and under-turf drainage.
Package three: Clubhouse - clubhouse maintenance, upgrading electrics and clubhouse extension, including ramps.
Package four: Skate Park - skate park ramps, seating, disabled access, skate park office and eastern and northern boundary.
Package five: Lighting and electrical network - electrical network for lighting, soccer pitch lighting, combi court lighting, lighting for the skate park and resurfacing of courts.
Phase two includes the construction of a training swimming pool, a recreational swimming pool and a clubhouse. "We are going to spend about R800 000 on this phase and we hope that it will be completed in 2006," Sweke says.
"The problem with phase two is that it is linked to the relocation of people in an informal settlement next to the complex. The relocation is voluntary and some people have been relocated while others are still living there."
In phase three, a multi-purpose sports hall will be the constructed. It should be completed by 2008.
For more information about this project, contact Setplan project leader Desmond Sweke on 011 467 0040 or visit the Setplan website.
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