The bicycle club of a Macassar youth organization is trying to bring back their dream of a bike park that has been destroyed by vandalism and turned into a dumping site.
The youngsters of the Unathi Community and Youth Development (UCY) have now taken it upon themselves to clean up the grounds.
The bike was severely damaged last year along with several structures, despite UCY signing the lease agreement.
The grounds has since been used as a dumping site and is filled with rubble and garbage.
Tynille Meiring, 21, says cleaning and repairing the damaged area will take a lot of time and resources due to the severity of the vandalism.
“Currently our priority is to get the area clean and on Friday we are having our first clean up session while ASLA also agreed to help with the rubble clean up,” he says.
Russel Williams who founded UCY in 2008 says the idea of a bike park is to keep laaities on the straight and narrow.
He says they want to develop the bike park as a viable after-school program for all children.
Meiring added that the bike park will improve community engagement: “We will organise events such as outdoor movies, markets, or festivals to increase positive use of the space and promote community ownership.
“In the long run we want to have a resident stay on the property to keep watch over the place,” Meiring says.
Macassar ward councillor Peter Helfrich has pledged his support towards the UCY’s initiative.
“They've opened up numerous opportunities for our youth, which our community greatly appreciates.
“Their latest project, the bike park on the land provided by the City of Cape Town, is yet another fantastic opportunity for our community. I fully support this initiative,” Helfrich says.
byron.lukas@inl.co.za