Keep Kloof Beautiful volunteers have transformed an unsafe, overgrown railway pedestrian crossing in the CBD into a safe, open and attractive garden space. A group of stakeholders met on Wednesday to celebrate the official opening of Spar Walk, named in honour of the contribution by Village SuperSpar.
The community and businesses have played an essential role in the project, with Transnet committing to regular maintenance of the area. Village Superspar, represented by manager Martin Shum, has played a pivotal role, bringing this project to fruition. Local school learners (including St Mary’s, Kloof Senior Primary and Kloof High School) have been also doing weekly litter pick-ups as part of their enviro club initiatives.
Another aspect of the Spar Walk is an open Graffiti canvas which is available to graffiti artists to use. This is an attempt to encourage them to work in this area, rather than spraying their art on public buildings.
Metro Police have been policing the area for vagrants, while DSW are involved in cleaning up after them. A local resident has volunteered to sponsor the clean-up of the railway line from Willingdon Bridge to the Shell Garage, extending this walker-friendly area.
Bobby Collingwood from Green Man Nursery donated an indigenous Toad Tree (tabernamontana ventricosa), which was planted by guest of honour Tanya Visser from The Gardener magazine.
This is an ongoing project to beautify the suburb of Kloof, and what a difference the Keep Kloof Beautiful Association has made. Future plans include restoring the Kloof Town Hall, as well as establishing a cycle track along the railway line.
Carolyn Osborne (chairwoman of Keep Kloof Beautiful Association) spoke of the days when she used to ride her horse across the railway crossing. This clean-up operation is already bringing more people to use the crossing as they feel safer doing so. “We want to be part of every household in Kloof, not just pockets,” Carolyn said. “Community service is our rent for living on this planet, so let’s all get involved!”
For more about the Keep Kloof Beautiful Association, click here