ByronH Posted January 12, 2018 Share Tell me, would it be unfeasible to do any of the three below options: 1) Install CCTV Cameras at current hotspots, and using an App (like NETCAM etc), allow for a group of people (it can even just be a collection of us) to monitor them in some kind of shift/roster basis (maybe even retired people, students etc)... and view suspicious activity.. even in retrospect? I know an immediate limitation would be that those cameras would need to be linked to some network via mobile data or wifi etc... 2) Have a 'patrol' roster, where groups of 3 or more riders sign up to ride around the more vulnerable areas at the more vulnerable times? This can be done via Google Docs, using an excel spreadsheet with the year calendar and people 'volunteer' some of their time during the year to ride in a patrol group... 3) Again, using an App like mySOS or ADT, have an automated emergency panic button which anybody within the vicinity of the spruit can push if they notice something suspicions, alerting the security company, spruit fairies, sprocket and jack, patrol group, or a concerned group of spruit users/forum who could alert the authorities? Patchelicious 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostSixFour Posted January 12, 2018 Share Tell me, would it be unfeasible to do any of the three below options: 1) Install CCTV Cameras at current hotspots, and using an App (like NETCAM etc), allow for a group of people (it can even just be a collection of us) to monitor them in some kind of shift/roster basis (maybe even retired people, students etc)... and view suspicious activity.. even in retrospect? I know an immediate limitation would be that those cameras would need to be linked to some network via mobile data or wifi etc... 2) Have a 'patrol' roster, where groups of 3 or more riders sign up to ride around the more vulnerable areas at the more vulnerable times? This can be done via Google Docs, using an excel spreadsheet with the year calendar and people 'volunteer' some of their time during the year to ride in a patrol group... 3) Again, using an App like mySOS or ADT, have an automated emergency panic button which anybody within the vicinity of the spruit can push if they notice something suspicions, alerting the security company, spruit fairies, sprocket and jack, patrol group, or a concerned group of spruit users/forum who could alert the authorities? With the plethora of companies rolling out fibre in those areas, I'm sure it will be viable to get some sort of connection available there. Patchelicious 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudi-h Posted January 12, 2018 Share pay per ride isn't a good option, and making it compulsory isn't great either... so, my 2c of something that can perhaps work... start with a non-profit organization dedicated to the upkeep and safekeeping of the spruit. Have this organization put a detail action plan together with priorities and deliverables... Example: if we get R1000 per month, we commit to patrol the spruit from cowley ave to Emmarentia dam on Saturday mornings between 8AM and 11AM with armed 1 guard on horseback. If we get R10000 per month, we can patrol the entire spruit on Saturday mornings between 6AM and 11h00 using 5 armed guards on horseback ... all the way up to: if we get 100000 per month, we can patrol the entire spruit on weekends between 5AM and 9PM and weekdays from 5AM - 9AM and 4PM to 7PM with 8 guards on horseback. In addition we will maintain all existing trails (cut crass, clean litter, clean jumps etc.) and build 50m of new single track. Then, instead of having a "pay per use" policy, work on donations. If a rider commits say more than R500 once off or R100/month for a half-year period or some artibitrary value, then you give him a unique sounding bike bell or something cool. The you greet fellow spruiters with your "I support the spruit" bell by ringing it everytime you pass a fellow rider on the spruit. Show income received in an open-book fashion on the web so that people can see how much donations have been received and what level of maintenance / security can be expected for the next month or quarter etc. Also use this as a buliten for potential threats, scares etc. and involve SAPS. edit: maybe a cellphone app indicating in real time which areas are patrolled, where the patrollers are and when they start and stop each day? Edited January 12, 2018 by rudi-h ByronH and Dubsymike 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchelicious Posted January 12, 2018 Share Tell me, would it be unfeasible to do any of the three below options: 1) Install CCTV Cameras at current hotspots, and using an App (like NETCAM etc), allow for a group of people (it can even just be a collection of us) to monitor them in some kind of shift/roster basis (maybe even retired people, students etc)... and view suspicious activity.. even in retrospect? I know an immediate limitation would be that those cameras would need to be linked to some network via mobile data or wifi etc... 2) Have a 'patrol' roster, where groups of 3 or more riders sign up to ride around the more vulnerable areas at the more vulnerable times? This can be done via Google Docs, using an excel spreadsheet with the year calendar and people 'volunteer' some of their time during the year to ride in a patrol group... 3) Again, using an App like mySOS or ADT, have an automated emergency panic button which anybody within the vicinity of the spruit can push if they notice something suspicions, alerting the security company, spruit fairies, sprocket and jack, patrol group, or a concerned group of spruit users/forum who could alert the authorities?Lekker ideas, nice. Think 2 and 3 could be initiated quickly while other slightly more complicated ones are being planned and executed. I hardly ride the Spruit, but I would like too do it more often, and perhaps this patrol could be a way to do that. Win win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddaman Posted January 12, 2018 Share pay per ride isn't a good option, and making it compulsory isn't great either... so, my 2c of something that can perhaps work... start with a non-profit organization dedicated to the upkeep and safekeeping of the spruit. Have this organization put a detail action plan together with priorities and deliverables... Done: http://www.spruit.co.za/wordpress/http://www.footprint.co.za/bst.htmhttp://www.footprint.co.za/fieldandstudy_friends.htm Also it seems that there is a Councillor working on it "Ward 103 councillor Vincent Earp is working with residents to tackle major problems in the area but calls on those affected by crime and other illegal activities to stand together." https://sandtonchronicle.co.za/183295/cry-the-beloved-spruit-no-solutions/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudi-h Posted January 12, 2018 Share Done: http://www.spruit.co.za/wordpress/http://www.footprint.co.za/bst.htmhttp://www.footprint.co.za/fieldandstudy_friends.htm Also it seems that there is a Councillor working on it "Ward 103 councillor Vincent Earp is working with residents to tackle major problems in the area but calls on those affected by crime and other illegal activities to stand together." https://sandtonchronicle.co.za/183295/cry-the-beloved-spruit-no-solutions/ Thanks for the info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love2fly Posted January 12, 2018 Share I don't even ride the spruit for free.Friend of mine was hit head-on due to poor trail ettiquette.Ended up having a badly broken wrist that needed a plate/surgery.Heard a few stories of similar ilk.I will stay away..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coppi Posted January 12, 2018 Share I don't even ride the spruit for free.Friend of mine was hit head-on due to poor trail ettiquette.Ended up having a badly broken wrist that needed a plate/surgery.Heard a few stories of similar ilk.I will stay away.....That is part of MTB and can happen on any trail................ DirtyFrank 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyFrank Posted January 12, 2018 Share Here are some thoughts: We can not remove the Spruit from Johannesburg and transplant it into Nirvana. We live in a world that has never succeeded in eliminating crime. Believing that we can do so on the Spruit is an unrealistic expectation. So what can we realistically do to make it relatively safer? Without changing the nature of the Spruit, it will be very difficult to find a solution.It is by it's nature a long, thin, mostly unfenced stretch of urban green space that is currently freely accessible along its length. There are roads, footpaths, underpasses, overpasses that criss-cross it and many kilometres of it is open to roads running alongside. Many people, not least pedestrian commuters use it to cross the river on a daily basis. Securing that physically will create a barrier that would require many access points. Building the barriers, patrolling & maintaining the perimeter and manning the access points will be an ongoing cost. Blocking the stormwater drains effectively without damming up or slowing down floodwater, is similarly an engineering challenge with social and financial consequences. These solutions would not be affordable without significant and ongoing Metro funding. Voluntary contributions by (some) users won't cut it. The social and financial cost will be very high and I know that the Metro has greater social needs to provide for. Even if the area is fenced, patrolled and access is controlled it may at best reduce attacks. The irony is that this last attack happened in the only area of the park that is completely fenced. So making access more difficult for honest people won't have any effect. The skelms will still get in, over the fence, through it, down stormwater drains as they are now doing. So physical means are not viable. We need to look at social means of creating an environment that that is "thug unfriendly". Except that they can escape down the drain, the reason that spot is being used by the thugs is because it is secluded, is infrequently used and then only by individuals in one or twos. 50m away it is safe as there are dog walkers and larger groups. I believe that the presence of people (particularly those with dogs) is a major contributor to safety and that the more good people use a space, the less room there is for bad people to move around with impunity. The more people who use the park the greater is the social good the Metro needs to protect and therefore they may be encouraged to patrol/have patrolled. We should thus aim to get more (and different) good people to use it. (edit: See Paddaman's (excellent) post posted at 09:56 whilst I was typing this) The more cyclist who use the park, the bigger the groups, the safer it becomes statistically, although there will still be attacks. That particular area has a general crime problem with lots of smash and grab incidents at the t-junction at Beyers/Judith. Problem is that there are too many escape routes for the perps to disappear into the Melville Koppies etc, probably the same bunch of scumbags. Biggest improvement would be to fence off the culvert and have the municipality install less penetrable fencing or to channel the access past a cctv camera which can be remotely viewed by security. If suspicious persons are viewed entering the area a siren could be activated to scare them off or to alert the park users and notify security. Much like a lighting siren on a golf course. Edited January 12, 2018 by DirtyFrank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roneblack46 Posted January 12, 2018 Share I have unfortunately seen the guards posted at the Botanical Gardens all together on one spot (usually at the Emmerentia dam wall entrance) on numerous occasions. That upper fence section has been a Hotspot for years -yet I have never seen a guard at the top section by Judith road. The correct placing and managing those guards will go a long way to keeping the area safe. Edited January 12, 2018 by Roneblack46 BigDL, Madala, Patchelicious and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NelAndre Posted January 12, 2018 Share Some good feedback and suggestions here. I would pay to ride but definitely as part of a plan to make it safer. I agree with others that mention this is a form of activism that can hold the authorities more accountable. Where do we sign up? Patchelicious 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slickandtyred Posted January 12, 2018 Share I would happily pay an annual or monthly membership towards security - maybe with some number board or something to identify - but please please please don't ask me to pay for each time I use it.. I like to dip in and out at all times of the day.. just visiting the access point and stamping my card or paying my money would ruin it for me. I think you would get reasonable support with a number of big signboards that says 'please buy your number to use these trails' posted up and down the spruit. my 2c worthAgreed. Having an identifier for those who contribute towards security costs is worthwhile. Acknowledge contribution. Paying per ride will not be easy to control. Too many access points. Security should be available in public places, we pay for it before we get our salaries... Sent from my VIE-L09 using Tapatalk Patchelicious 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchelicious Posted January 12, 2018 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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