Urban Management Trolley Introduced

The Geocentric Urban Management Trolley Project was initiated in 2017. 

The aim of the project is to provide urban cleaning and maintenance teams with a platform to improve their daily tasks, assist with moving of equipment and tools and enable recycling while performing their tasks. 

A few design considerations were introduced into the design of the trolley including 

  • The ability to move heavy loads of litter or recycling from one point to another without effort or potential injury 
  • Create high visibility for the cleaning and maintenance teams 
  • Have quick and easy access to tools and equipment 
  • The ability, even when fully loaded, to easy ascend and descend kerbs and sidewalks 
  • Be able to separate waste as they work to support the recycling initiative 

To achieve some of these design principles, Geocentric looked at simple solutions from other designs, for example, the stair-climbing suitcases used by so many travellers.  By scaling up the design for the urban management trolleys, we could produce a sidewalk and pavement climbing trolley where the urban management worker needs minimum effort to get onto and off pavements to perform their duties.  

(See photos of step 1, 2 and 3 illustrating this concept.) 

step1

step2

step3

The trolleys were also designed to be pushed from any side with key tools located in the middle so that it is in fact easy to use it for a two-man team operation.  On each side of the trolley a plastic tool box allows storage for small tools. 

Recyclables like tin cans, glass and plastic bottles are collected by the urban management workers throughout the day as they clean the streets and public spaces and at the end of each day they separate the items into baskets whereafter Geocentric recycles the items. 

trolley 4 trolley 5

This is another way in which we make CID operations more sustainable and environmentally friendly as we prevent a vast amount of waste from simply going to landfills. 

trolley 6

Geocentric have rolled out these trollies in the Elsies River and Beaconvale City Improvement Districts and plan to roll them out to all the other CIDs under Geocentric management through the course of 2018. 

Beaconvale gaining ground

Thanks to the commitment of all who are involved in the Beaconvale Improvement District drive, strides of progress are being made in various ways. 

The accompanying images tell the story of how problems like illegal dumping and the confiscation of stolen trolleys and wheelie-bins are successfully addressed by the teams. 

The Public Safety issues that are addressed during the day-to-day activities, include problems related to the following:  

  • Illegal Dumping 
  • Engaging with the public (public safety officers engage with all people in the public space to ensure that everyone is aware of the BVID’s presence and activities. This is done in conjunction with and in support of the law enforcement officer seconded to the Stikland CID, who oversees such activities. If something suspicious is found, the Law Enforcement Officer and/or SAPS act accordingly. 
  • Bin scratching  
  • CCTV visuals followed up if necessary  
  • Trolley and wheelie-bin confiscation 

 trolley abuse1 trolley abuse2

The Cleaning issues include: 

  • Litter picking 
  • De-weeding 
  • Sweeping streets 

cleaning1 cleaning2 cleaning3 cleaning4

On the Urban management side, the BVID Management continues to log all urban and infrastructure defects as C3* notifications with the City of Cape Town for correction. (*This is a system introduced by the City of Cape Town by which the public can report urban defects / problems / law enforcement issues – to them via various platforms, such as sms (31373 – all issues except electrical and 31220 for electrical issues), call centre (086 103 089) and e-mail. (https://www.capetown.gov.za/en/ServiceRequests/Pages/default.aspx) 

collaborating with CCT(2) collaborating with CCT(1)

BEACONVALE ID CCTV PROJECT – REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Following the successful implementation of BVID as a Special Rating Area (SRA) the Board has taken the initiative to extend the public safety operations to the next level by implementing a CCTV camera network.  The proposed intervention will focus on supporting the current public safety and urban management activities thereby contributing to securing the area and driving incidents of property related crime down. This will be achieved by implementing live surveillance of the public areas by means of a full-time monitored CCTV camera network.

Phase 1 of the project will focus on the implementation of 7 public surveillance cameras.  The implementation of additional surveillance cameras and LPR (Licence Plate Recognition) cameras at key access points to the area will be considered in future phases of the project.

Click here for the detailed Request for Proposal document.

All proposals are to be forwarded to Gene Lohrentz of Geocentric (management company for the BVID)  by no later than 16:00 on Wednesday 28 February 2018. Proposals can be forwarded via email to info@beaconvalecid.co.za.  You may contact us on 083 255 7657 to arrange delivery of printed documents should you also want to submit a hard copy submission. No late submissions will be accepted. Please do not include company registration documents etc.

Once the Board has evaluated all the proposals, a decision will be made on the successful service provider.  The decision of the Board is final and no further correspondence regarding the proposal will be entered into once the successful service provider has been appointed. The Board is under no obligation to qualify its decisions to any of the applicants.

All costs related to the submission of this proposal must be borne by the relevant applicants/companies/service providers and they shall have no claim for cost recovery to the Board and or its representatives whatsoever.

Cape Town Mayor outlines status quo of water crisis

During a recent speech delivered at the Atlantis Aquifer, Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille thanked Capetonians who had been making efforts to cut their water usage, saying that about half of water users had restricted their daily usage to 87 litres per day.

But added that this was not enough. “We need each and every Capetonian and business on board as a partner on this journey,” she said.

“We are in an unprecedented drought crisis and this phase is critical because if the City and residents don’t do enough together and simultaneously, we will run out of water.”

She said the City was doing everything in its power to ensure additional supply, including finding and hiring the country’s best team of experts who were working 80-hour weeks with the metro to ensure that additional water could be brought ‘online’.

The Atlantis plant was one of several sites for alternative water sources which form part of the ‘Water Resilience Plan’.

The City of Cape Town had recently refurbished many of the boreholes around this West Coast area to increase the production of this plant. She pointed out that these boreholes formed a part of the City’s unique Artificially Recharged Aquifer System and said a lot of work had gone into ensuring an increase in the volume of water from this aquifer system.

Prior this work, the system had been producing around four million litres of water per day. “We have now increased the yield from this aquifer by an additional five million litres per day.”

The water is serving homes and industrial businesses in Atlantis, Mamre and Pella on the outskirts of the West Coast, which is quite a vast area. “So the additional capacity will be welcomed,” the Mayor said.

“This work demonstrates our commitment to addressing this current drought crisis. I repeat my commitment that I will not allow a well-run city to run out of water.”

She added that she had made it clear when the site of a new desalination plant with the V&A Waterfront had been announced: “we have a plan and we will supply water, but we need Team Cape Town to assist us”.

In the meantime, the City of Cape Town announced that Level 6 water restrictions will be implemented from 1 January 2018, which means that households using more than 10,500 litres per month could face fines and penalties. A proposal for a drought charge of between R45 and R2 800, depending on the value of the property, has also been tabled.

Take a look at these shocking images of the Theewaterskloof Dam looking more like a desert than a body of water:

theewaterskloof dam, cape town, drought, water crisis theewaterskloof dam, cape town, drought, water crisis theewaterskloof dam, cape town, drought, water crisis theewaterskloof dam, cape town, drought, water crisis

PICTURES: BVID sees major improvement with cleaner streets

Getting a brand new project off the ground is no easy task, a fact to which the recently launched Beaconvale Improvement District (BVID) team can heartily attest.

Launched on Monday, 31 July 2017, the BVID’s main objectives for the first few months of operation have been to improve safety in the area and get the streets cleaned up.

While you can read more about the safety improvements in Chairperson Sean Lavery’s summary of the first few months {insert link to article}, here’s a quick overview of what the cleaning teams have been up to.

From as early as day one, the BVID’s Cleaning and Maintenance Team – with assistance from the MES Team – were deployed to pick litter, de-weed, remove posters and sweep the streets. These basic tasks still form part of the day-to-day cleaning schedule, however the team also often has to deal with urgent tasks that require immediate responses. These include illegal dumping and removing debris from the road following a motor vehicle accident.

The removal of illegal dumping has proven to be a particularly arduous problem in the area, but one the cleaning team has tackled with great results.

Areas within the BVID that seem to be particularly susceptible to illegal dumping include:

  • Riley Street
  • Tredoux Street
  • Parow Station
  • Van der Spuy Road
  • Jan Smuts Road
  • Glen Hurst Street
  • Otto Street
  • Connaught Street
  • Van der Stel Street

Take a look at the following before-and-after photos from various cleaning projects taken on over the past few months:

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“The area really looks amazing. With the litter continually being cleaned up, it’s really just a lot tidier and more inviting,” says Lavery.

When asked whether any greening projects will be introduced into the area, Lavery said that at the moment they’re concentrating on keeping the area clean, but that gardens will hopefully be on the agenda in the near future.

Beaconvale Improvement District – an overview of the first 4 months

Since launching on 31 July 2017, Beaconvale Improvement District (BVID) has brought a “quick and obvious” turnaround to an industrial area that “was not in a great state at all”.

So says Chairperson Sean Lavery in an overview of the BVID’s first four months of operations.

“One of our biggest challenges was the fact that there was a lot of work to do. It took quite a few weeks for the guys to make inroads. But the upside of that is, the change was apparent very quickly. You could see the difference,” he explains.

Measures that have been put into place in the area include:

  • The appointment of safety officers in partnership with Zonewatch Security
  • The appointment of cleaning teams
  • Improvement of lighting

According to Lavery all the teams have been performing above and beyond the initial expectations.

“The safety officers have, for instance, been walking people who work in the area and commute by train from the station in the morning and back again in the evening. Just being able to make people feel safe in their working environment is a big achievement on its own.”

With the year now drawing to a close, Lavery and team hope to build on this with the majority of the year’s R3.6million budget being pushed toward further enhancing safety services – investing in additional patrol vehicles and officers – as well as cleaning.

“We are also hoping to put some money aside for other projects, such as installing CCTV cameras throughout the area and erecting a fence on the corner of Van Riebeeck Street and Fransie van Zyl to improve the safety of workers walking to and from work.”

These official improvements have also had a positive knock-on effect among businesses, as the visible care being taken of the area encourages others to take more responsibility of their own.

While it’s still early days, Lavery believes that Beaconvale’s businesses are satisfied with their investment and that they can look forward to many more improvements over the coming months and years.

Ultimately, the BVID hopes to attain the following goals:

  • Reduce crime significantly by proactive visible patrolling and cooperation, along with existing SAPS and City of Cape Town Law Enforcement, as well as other security service providers in the area
  • Create a safe and clean public environment
  • Manage existing and new public infrastructure
  • Protect property values
  • Attract new investment
  • Support the promotion of the BVID industrial area as a safe and clean environment by promoting greening, energy efficiency, recycling and risk/disaster management
  • Support and promote social responsibility in the area

 

“It has been a privilege dealing with Gene and Geocentric in getting the Beaconvale CID set up. He has assisted and guided the steering committee throughout the process and continuously delivered on time,” Lavery concludes.

 

BEACONVALE IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING

Beaconvale LogoThe BEACONVALE IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NPC will be hosting a Special General Meeting and all stakeholders are invited to a review of the year’s activities and planning for 2018/19.

Date: 7 November 2017

Time: 15:00
Venue: FI Group, Unit A1, Connaught Park, Mc Gregor
Street, Beaconvale

Resolutions presented at the SGM can only be voted on by bona fide members of the BEACONVALE IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NPC. This membership is available free of charge to all owners of commercial or industrial properties within the BEACONVALE IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT SRA footprint, but they must be registered before 24 October 2017.

Membership Application Forms can be downloaded on the Beaconvale ID Website

Completed Application forms can be e-mailed to info@geocentric.co.za or for further information please call 083 255 7657

AGENDA:
▪ Registration
▪ Welcome & Apologies, Quorum to constitute meeting
▪ CID Manager’s feedback on operations
▪ Approval of Implementation Plan 2018/19
▪ Approval of Budget and usage of Surplus Funds 2018/19
▪ Appointment of Auditors
▪ Appointment of Company Secretary
▪ Election of Board Members
▪ General / Q & A
▪ Adjournment

NOTICE OF SECOND PUBLIC MEETING

APPLICATION SUBMITTED TO CITY OF CAPE TOWN TO ESTABLISH A SPECIAL RATING AREA (SRA) TO BE KNOWN AS THE BEACONVALE IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (BVID)

The Beaconvale Improvement District the Beaconvale Improvement District Steering Committee is pleased to advise you that we have received enough support for the Business Plan dated July 2016 Revision 1 to submit an application to the City of Cape Town to establish the Beaconvale Improvement District in terms of the City of Cape Town SRA By-Law 2012, as amended 2016 and SRA Policy, 2016.

Any objections to the establishment of the Beaconvale Improvement District must be submitted in writing to the City Manager, PO Box 298, Cape Town, 8000 or hand delivered to the City Manager, 5th Floor, Podium Block, Civic Centre, 12 Hertzog Boulevard, Cape Town or e-mailed to eddie.scott@capetown.gov.za. Objections must be received by the City by not later than 16 December 2016.

A public meeting will be held, the purpose of which shall be to inform all attendees of relevant information pertaining to the application, and to discuss the practical implications relating thereto.

DATE               : 5 December 2016

TIME                : 14H00

PLACE             : FI Group

ADDRESS        : Unit A1, Connaught Park, Mc Gregor Street, Beaconvale

The BVID aims to create a safer and cleaner environment for all by providing ‘top up’ services to those provided by the City of Cape Town.  If the application is successful, the BVID will become effective from 1 July 2017.

NOTICE of Public Meeting

ESTABLISHING A SPECIAL RATING AREA (SRA) FOR BEACONVALE

Notice is hereby given that:

1.     Finitex Pty Ltd, registered owner of Erf 22461, 73 Connaught Road, Beaconvale, intends applying to establish an SRA, to be called the Beaconvale Improvement District in terms of the City of Cape Town: Special Rating Area By-Law – 2012 (as amended 2016) read together with the City of Cape Town’s Special Rating Area Policy to include all non-residential rated properties in the area  bound by:

Northern Boundary:  From the intersection of the railway reserve with Jan van Riebeeck Drive eastwards along the railway reserve to the intersection of the railway reserve with Parow Station and Connaught Road (Excluding the railway reserve and Parow Station).

Eastern Boundary: From Parow Station along Connaught Road southwards up until the intersection of Riley Street, along Riley Street to include all non-residential properties on both sides of Connaught and Riley Streets. From there the boundary follows along Koedoe Street to the cul de sac of Taylor street and then eastwards along the back of the industrial properties intersecting with Impala Street, Prinsloo Street, Bresler Road and Du Preez Street up until De Villiers Street and then along De Villiers Street to Riley Street to include the boundary of Erf 23412 where it borders on De La Rey Street.

Southern Boundary:  From the intersection of De La Ray Street and Francie van Zijl Street along Tredoux Street to include all properties north of Francie van Zijl Drive up until the intersection with Jan van Riebeeck Drive.

Western Boundary:  From the intersection of Francie van Zijl Drive and Jan van Riebeeck Drive northwards along the eastern boundary of the road reserve up to the intersection of Jan van Riebeeck Drive and the railway line to include only the properties to the east of Jan van Riebeeck Drive.

2.     A public meeting will be held, the purpose of which shall be to:

i)       Inform all attendees of relevant information pertaining to the application, and to

ii)    Discuss the practical implications relating thereto.

DATE                    : 10 August 2016

TIME                    : 16:30

PLACE                  : Meeting Room, Tiervlei Electric

ADDRESS            : 99 Rissik Street, Beaconvale

ALL PROPERTY OWNERS IN THE PROPOSED SRA

ARE REQUESTED TO ATTEND THIS MEETING.

Enquiries, contact Sean Lavery Tel: 021 937 7440

Please note:  If you are not the registered owner of this property, kindly forward this notice to the registered owner immediately and inform G. Lohrentz at gene@geocentric.co.za, 083 255 7657 of the registered owner’s contact details so that contact could be made with the registered owner.

Welcome to theBeaconvale Improvement District Initiative

The proposed Beaconvale area supports a business mix including some light industries as well as various industrial parks and a retail spine along Connaught Road and Jan Smuts Street.  The public environment is clearly in distress with marked levels of urban degradation.  Most business owners are aware of crime, concerned about crime or have been directly affected by crime in the area.  Property owners of adjacent communities such as Elsies River Industrial, Parow Industrial, Epping Industrial and properties owners in the Voortrekker Road Corridor have already invested in their urban management by establishing their own Special Rating Areas commonly known as city improvement districts.

The steering committee has identified the Special Rating Area (SRA) model as a basis to address problems and counter any potential for further urban decay and the further increase of crime in the area. The formation of an SRA in the area will enable the establishment of a statutory body to manage and implement additional public safety and urban management operations in addition to those services provided by the City of Cape Town. The property owners from the area will pay an additional rate to fund additional municipal services for that specific area as set out in this business plan for the proposed Beaconvale Improvement District (BVID). The additional municipal services typically include the provision of additional public safety, cleansing services, maintenance and/or upgrading of the urban public environment and/or infrastructure and social services that addresses social issues in the area.

The SRA additional rates is collected by the City from property owners in the area and paid to the BVID, a Non Profit Company (NPC). The budget will be dedicated to the specific area only and will be spent in accordance with the approved Business Plan. The additional rates paid by the property owners in the area means an equitable split based on municipal property valuation. The cost of the additional services allows individual property owners to benefit from a well-managed business node including a shared sense of communal pride, safety and social responsibility.

Vision, Mission and Goals of the Proposed Beaconvale Improvement District

The vision of the BVID is to establish and maintain a safe, clean, well-managed Industrial District that attracts and retains business investment and activities in the area.

It is the mission of the BVID to implement a strategy to counter urban degeneration of the area by creating a safe and attractive Industrial District.

The Proposed Beaconvale Improvement District has the following goals:

  • Reducing crime significantly by proactive visible patrolling and cooperation with existing SAPS and City of Cape Town Law Enforcement efforts as well as other security service providers in the area.
  • Creating a safe and clean public environment by addressing issues of maintenance and cleaning of streets, pavements and public spaces.
  • Manage existing and new public infrastructure for the future benefit of all the users of the area.
  • Protect property values.
  • Attract new investment to the area.
  • Support the promotion of the BVID industrial area as a safe and clean environment by promoting greening, energy efficiency, recycling and risk/disaster management.
  • Support and promote social responsibility in the area
  • The sustained and effective management of the BVID area.