Montrose Park mense beautify their local park
TAKE CARE: Gary Fredericks, 58, and his helpers. Picture supplied
Concerned Montrose Park residents have taken it upon themselves to fix up a public park.
Gary Fredericks, 58, and a small group of residents started taking care of the park in Tracy Close by planting flowers, while they also do regular patrols in the area.
“Along with the older guys, there is also a group of about six youngsters aged six to 12 that come out and help us but that number is growing every week,” says Gary.
“For now we just use stuff from our own houses and the stuff we get from neighbours so we are using whatever tools we get and planting stuff like cactuses.”
Gary says the park serves as a thoroughfare from Montrose Park to Samantha Road, which serves as the main road in the area and also the hub for public transport.
“Everybody walks through the park if they want to take a bus or taxi in Samantha Road so they need to be safe while walking there,” he says.
“In the past, people have been robbed in Samantha Road while the guys used to come and smoke dagga here in the park but we managed to chase them away here.
“Last year, the council fenced the park off but the locks were broken off and it has not been fixed.
“We had to get our own locks so that we could lock the park at 9pm and then open it up again for people to take the bus in the morning.”
While Gary and the rest of the neighbours are more than happy to fix the issues at the park themselves, they are appealing to members of the public to help them out by donating more plants and tools.