Economic Gloom & Doom

Remember a year or so ago?  When you couldn’t find an empty shop in the suburb? When we could all afford lunch at one of our restaurants; or a good bottle of wine; or an interesting antique knick-knack; or a cute item of kiddies clothing; or a new something for that spot on our mantlepiece?

Remember the time when you didn’t have to rent out your granny flat? When you didn’t think twice about that much needed repair? When the value of our houses went up every month? When we had to make our garage bigger to take the new SUV? When we could just lock up & go when we had had enough of the big bad city of Joburg?

For a while, those halcyon days are over, & this has been impacting on our suburb. Shops are closing down, restaurants are cutting costs, services are drying up, small businesses are tightening their belts & credit cards are being cut up.

But gloom & doom? I think not. This is the time to rethink our lives. To look inwards. To look at what we can do to help us & each other. It is time to take stock & take an interest in our environment, our community & ourselves.

It is time to look at what we have around us. A vibrant & pretty suburb. A bustling set of neighbourhood shops that are waiting for us to explore. A chance to walk around the streets & our numerous parks. A chance to think & shop locally. A great library, recreation centre, a cheap club at the MOTH Hall, proximity to some of the best walking & mountain biking routes in the city, & more.

And to make matters more interesting. We are a suburb with attitude. This is evident from the various initiatives that residents & businesses have started up. We are not a sit back & whinge community, but have always taken the lead in Joburg in the way the resident’s association fights for the suburb, in the way the residents & businesses form interest groups on issues such as crime, street watchdogs, park upgrades, community involvement projects & protecting our suburb from rampant commercialism & invasion into our residential fabric.

 So find a cause, get involved, get out & about, explore locally & start living a life as part of the Parkhurst community.

No More Restaurants & Bars in 4th Ave

With the decline in our economy which is resulting in several business closures in Parkhurst, 4th Avenue is now in danger of becoming a host for strip restaurants, bars & nightclubs similar to those in 7th Avenue in Melville. We feel that this may irreparably damage Parkhurst & destroy the very things that attracted most residents to the area in the first place.

Parkhurst has a Regional Spatial Development Framework (RSDF) which is an official plan compiled by the City of Johannesburg that sets out guidelines that must be followed in relation to zoning & land-use applications in our suburb. 

Among its stated objectives is the prohibition of encroachment of non-residential uses into the residential area of Parkhurst, with specific reference to commercial & business development along 4th Avenue. It states that “no more coffee shops & restaurants will be supported along 4th Avenue.

The problem is that there are currently a number of NEW Restaurant applications under review with Council… with more to come!

Along with more restaurants comes more noise, cars & traffic congestion, late-night patrons, car guards, & increased problems for residents living near the restaurants.

As residents, existing restaurants & traders, we need to stand up & protect our neighborhood from encroachment & deterioration. If you want to support us, you can make a donation towards our suburb’s battle:

Parkhurst Residents Association, Nedbank, A/C# 1972069926, Hyde Park (197205), mark it Action 12 & add your street address.

Info: Bridgitte Steer on 083 604 0404 /  pvraaction12@parkhurst.org.za

Go Green This April

Last year Parkhurst was voted the best Joburg suburb & now we need to live up to it. With this in mind, the PVRA is taking initiative to start tackling environmental management in 2009. Our environment is a priority for everyone as it affects each of us in some way. Every one of us can take action to make a positive difference to improve the environment. And one way to do that is by recycling.

The PVRA is driving a campaign to raise awareness, inform, educate and encourage greater participation in waste recycling by all residents. 

In December 2008, a street count revealed that there were about 100 households using the blue Resolution Recycling bins & 325 households put out Orange Ronnie Bags. That means that there were 425 out of 1800 (23.6%) households that currently recycle something.

Recycling Tips

There are 2 basic methods to dispose of your non-biodegradable household waste. The easiest, but more expensive method is to call Resolution Recycling on 083-785-3629 & order a blue bin for R985/yr & into which you throw all your glass, metal, clean plastics, paper, old batteries, printer cartridges, etc. They currently have a waiting period of about 2-3 weeks for new clients

The other free, but more time consuming, method is to have 4 bins just outside the kitchen door which you can use to separate your waste into (1) Metals; (2) Plastics, polystyrene; (3) Glass; (4) Paper & cardboard. The paper & cardboard gets put out each Wednesday & the other separated waste can be taken for free to the Pikitup dump in Victory Park Rd next to Pirates Sports Club every month.

Whatever method you use, remember to wash your plastic, glass and metal items to avoid smelling & attracting flies.

Next Edition: We will be targeting litter reduction as well as composting & making a cheap wormery.

Senior Citizens Tea Party

The annual Senior Citizens Tea Party was held at Parkhurst Primary School Hall on Saturday 14th March. Ex-Parkhurst resident Sue Briggs did a wonderful job as MC and there were over 40 residents who attended. 

Our thanks go to the main sponsor of the party - Nan Roberts Estates. We would also like to thank the Parkhurst Primary School & the learners who helped as servers. following Parkhurst traders who generously donated prizes & other items: 

Roma Paris Barber, The Attic Restaurant, Sugar & Spice, Nice on 4th, Parklands Pharmacy, Radford Antiques, Parkhurst Bookshop, Gwen’s Style, Full Stop Restaurant, Senses Flower Arrangements, Park Liquor Store, Opticien, Café Espresso, Friendly Store, Solly Kramers, Berry Margolis & Parkhurst Hardware.

Parkhurst Facebook

“Who grew up in Parkhurst” Facebook group is a great place to see some old photos, chat about the old (and current times), & catch up on old friends. They have a growing membership of 230.

Autumn Leaves

Parkhurst has around 2000 mature street trees and about 6000 more on people’s properties. Every autumn we are literally swamped with falling leaves. And these leaves are invariable collected & thrown out in the trash. 

Last year I decided to see what could be done with the leaves of my 16th St Celtis Africaner street tree. I was hoping for some nice mulch which I could use the following winter.

Over about 4 weeks I collected all the leaves & fallen twigs & stuffed them into black trash bags. I eventually ended up with about 30 bags. I cut a few holes in the bags & dosed them with a few seconds spurt of water from the hose & then piled them along my driveway wall & let them settle.

After about a month (with a few more spurts of water), they were about 1/3 of their original size & starting to make a smelly mess down the driveway. I created a space down my side alley of about 2m long, 1/2m wide & 1m high made from some metal stakes & chicken wire where I tipped all the leaves out of the bags. The leaves initially filled the space & have since rotted down & I have also been using it for my clippings & other garden waste. 

The decomposed leaves & other garden waste have now made a great mulch which I will be using over winter once the rains have stopped.

So how about it - with a little effort, you can make use of your leaves & stop unneccesarily  filling up our landfill sites.

Community News

There are several sponsorship & volunteer opportunities open to Parkhurst residents & businesses. If you are interested in becoming more involved in our suburb, please contact Vanessa on vanessa@wanyana.co.za or 082-341-5256.

• Parkhurst Primary School is looking for volunteers for extra reading for learners of the school. Donate 45 minutes of your time between 8h00-13h00 once or twice a week to listen to and assist learners from grade 1 to grade 4. You will be provided with a basic orientation, so do not worry if you have not done this before.
• Parkhurst Library needs a Volunteer Librarian who is able to work 3 or 4 mornings a week.
• Parkhurst Village Fair is back in planning for August! Contact Vanessa for more info.

High Street Traders Association Formed

Prompted largely by the recent closures of 4th Avenue, the traders in 4th Avenue decided to form the High Street Traders Association.

The previous Traders Association collapsed about 3-4 years ago & since then the traders have had no real collective voice. At a meeting in March 2009 the new association was voted into life. It will initially operate with a steering committee for 6 months in order to set up the structures and procedures. 

The majority of those present at the initial meeting were against any more street closures, especially as they did not really benefit the traders & in some cases were bad for business.

Lets wish them well & hope that they can help Parkhurst keep its village feel & help develop a good mix of traders in 4th Avenue.

 Info: Carissa, 011-250-7929,  info@sensescreations.co.za.