Making Space for people waiting for lifts at the start of the Lagoon Road - My correspondence with the Knysna Municipality (ongoing).

This is my first letter to the Executive Mayor:

By hand

11 December 2008

Eleanore Bouw-Spies
Executive Mayor - Knysna

Dear Eleanore,

Re: Making Space for people waiting for lifts at the start of the Lagoon Road

I am writing to you as we are familiar faces to each other through the years of the Thesen Islands redevelopment and as someone who has the interests of the people of Knysna at heart.

The side of the road west of the intersection of Waterfront Drive and the Lagoon Road has been used for years for people looking for lifts. A few years ago some bright spark decided that no one should be able to get lifts there and put in the low wooden fence stretching some distance along the road to stop drivers from pulling off the road. This resulted in:

1. Vehicles still stopping in the same spot but now being unable to pull fully off the road, created a dangerous situation for all road users and
2. The lift seekers moving further down the road to beyond the fence.

(By the way, you would have noticed that the same situation in Sedgefield.)

This decision to put the low fence in place was in complete indifference to the realities of the South African people. It hardly needs pointing out – except to this decision maker – that the majority in South Africa do not have a car and are dependent on taxi's and others to transport them. That is why they are on the side of the road.

Therefore provision must be made for them.

Now that the Lagoon Road is being upgraded, I ask that you, as executive mayor of our town, ensure that there is an area alongside the road where vehicles can pull off safely and pick up and drop off passengers.

Failure to provide for the lift seekers and givers in this upgrading will not make them go away. The cars, taxis and trucks will continue to stop in the road, endangering everyone.

Yours sincerely,


Ken Rutherford


She responded, or rather Christopher Bezuidenhout responded on her behalf, saying my letter will be sent to Johnny Douglas. He responded by saying "I will request my Director: Technical Services, Neale Perring to table it at the next Technical Steering Committee Meeting."

This is my response of 22 January 2009 to Mr Douglas:

Dear Mr Douglas,

Someone within the Municipality needs to champion the needs of the poorest people of our town on this issue!

Based on the non committal tone of the replies, my concern is that neither you, nor the Executive Mayor feel the need to "push" the matter, namely the pressing need for for place for vehicles to pull over to pick up people at the start of the Lagoon Road.

The Executive Mayor passes my letter on to you, you pass it on to Mr Perring who then tables it at a meeting of the Technical Steering Committee which is a group of engineers whose primary interest lies in road construction. Who well could be the very people responsible for the current low fence designed to stop drivers from stopping to pick up lift seekers!

Perhaps I am wrong and the plans do include a stopping area. Well, then congratulations to the engineers!

But if not, I think that for anything to happen this matter needs to be motivated by either you or the Executive Mayor, and preferably both. If you agree it is important, then I ask that you put your weight behind it. If not, well, let me know why!

Will you please keep me informed as to what the outcome is of this matter being tabled at the Technical Steering Committee Meeting?

Warm regards, Ken Rutherford