The municipality has, for the past three years, been carrying out a major upgrade on the Boksburg Lake and authorities are hoping that such efforts will spearhead the city’s bid to renew the degraded Boksburg town.
According to the metro spohttps://boksburgadvertiser.co.za/331041/boksburg-lake-park-newly-revamped/kesperson, Themba Gadebe, the restoration of the iconic Boksburg Lake is in its final stages.
R15-million was budgeted for upgrades to the ongoing project, which started in 2016.
The restoration is expected to be completed by May this year, a development the municipality described as a major boost to the revamping of Boksburg’s central business district.
The first two phases of restoration was comprised of major earthworks to close a pedestrian walkway that had developed, and to enlarge the park’s utility surface.
It also included an upgrade of the security infrastructure, with perimeter fencing and controlled access points.
The development of a network of brick-paved walkways to control pedestrian traffic as well as the building of a 500-seater multipurpose amphitheatre was completed.
The final phase entails completion of recreational nodes within the park and includes a climbing wall, play park, gym trim, kick-about soccer and basketball fields as well as a dedicated braai area and the final greening of the enlarged 9ha zone.
“The main aim of the upgrades is to create a vibrant community recreational space that would spearhead real urban renewal in an area that faced degradation,” said Gadebe.
The aesthetic elements of the upgrades include use of the red clay bricks and sandstone in walkways, paving and walls which are a distinctive features of Boksburg’s beautiful heritage buildings. These paving materials are also robust and can withstand high usage.
The final touches will include the reed beds that will be introduced to filter and clean the lake’s water as part of a large-scale water purification exercise to restore its aquatic health.
The installation of solar lights around the lake is expected to improve lighting and visibility at a low cost.
Poor maintenance and security
Although the metro seemed to have started the project with the best of intentions, and that many residents are grateful to the metro’s efforts to rehabilitate the lake, ward councillor Marius de Vos pointed out shortcomings in the project.
These include lack of maintenance, the need for toilets for visitors and to secure the newly revamped property against theft and vandalism.
De Vos said failure to maintain and do enough to protect the property from vandals and thieves would mean the millions of rands spent on the refurbishment would just go to waste, thus constituting fruitless and wasteful expenditure on the part of the metro.
“I have taken a stroll around the Boksburg Lake, but what I have seen is not impressive at all. After all the millions spent on improving the facility, it’s now left to degenerate into the former slum and neglect,” said de Vos.
The Advertiser visited the property again on Tuesday afternoon and found that sections of the park already look unkempt and neglected, with tall and uncut grass.
Despite all the newly installed, costly fitness gym equipment and children’s playground equipment, there was no security guard in sight.
Although people were seen using the equipment, it is still unclear whether the park has been officially opened to the public to use. Furthermore, the lake’s visitors have no toilets to use and they are using the veld to answer the call of nature, contributing to pollution.
History of the Boksburg Lake Park
The Boksburg Lake Park dates back to 1889 when it was the social heart of the then prosperous mining town.
Before the commencement of construction works to give the property a facelift, it was dilapidated, vandalised, disused and frequented predominantly by homeless people, and used to be a crime hot spot where criminals would ambush passers-by.
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