Klapperkop Extended Hours

[River Rat]

The safety and security system at Klapperkop although very haphazrd has had some postive effects in that the spate of muggings has stopped since the gates have been closed at night and access controlled during the day. The unintended consequences are that house break ins have spiked as criminals shift their focus, we are addressing this with Nature Conservation and the adjacent estates to improve day and night time security. Another aspect is that we are denied access to the reserve for early morning and evening training. Officially the open times are from 7am to 5pm but I am exploring a technical solution that would allow access to paid members from 5am to 7pm. To gauge the viability of this I need to get an indication on whether you would be prepared to pay an annual fee and how much. So if you would like to use Fort Klapperkop please indicate your preference in the poll in terms of an annual fee. I am doing this on various groups so please only particpate once.

[River Rat]

It looks like nobody has a problem with the current opening hours!

[bertusras]

We haven't ridden at Klapperkop for quite a while now, partly because of the security issues, and mostly because we have moved from the area, but the biggest benefit was the fact that we could go for a quick 90 minute ride there after work, which meant we were often there until after 6pm in the summer. That was great, and I would imagine a lot of people would like to still have that as a possibility. 

[Rowl]

It is was great to be out there at 5am in the morning and sometimes till 7pm after work.  It would be a real loss if we can't continue with this.

 

So yes, I am willing to pay for the service.

[Hello Ruan]

I don't ride at Klapperkop but I am willing to chip in to support cycling as a community. And I believe only once everyone starts being more supportive of things like this where their money is required it is the only way a difference can be made, I honestly don't think there is any other way anymore. Everyone wants safety and security but very few is willing to pay for it.

I guess people probably don't think they will get their money's worth because how reliable will the security be? But only one way to find out and also I am not just looking at this from a cycling point of view but also community. Heard some pretty terrible stories of people driving through there and even stopping to look at the sunset.

I am also willing to come and work on those trails too

[River Rat]

It is was great to be out there at 5am in the morning and sometimes till 7pm after work.  It would be a real loss if we can't continue with this.

 

So yes, I am willing to pay for the service.

Yep it's a great training option and there are usually between 30-50 cyclists and runners on the road between 5 and 7 in the morning. So I'm rather surprised that we are facing this level of apathy here while on some of the Facebook groups there's a strong support for the R250 option.

[Vetplant]

A more realistic approach is the mooted commercialization of the site, like putting up viewing decks and food vendors. This will bring in the cash flow which can then cover the security costs.

 

If you then ask a smaller annual riding/running fee people it will start to make sense.

 

I doubt that the runners and cyclists who are willing to pay for security will generate enough income to cover the security required to make it safe.

 

I am happy to be proven wrong, this is just where my head is at currently.

[River Rat]

I don't ride at Klapperkop but I am willing to chip in to support cycling as a community. And I believe only once everyone starts being more supportive of things like this where their money is required it is the only way a difference can be made, I honestly don't think there is any other way anymore. Everyone wants safety and security but very few is willing to pay for it.

 

I guess people probably don't think they will get their money's worth because how reliable will the security be? But only one way to find out and also I am not just looking at this from a cycling point of view but also community. Heard some pretty terrible stories of people driving through there and even stopping to look at the sunset.

 

I am also willing to come and work on those trails too

I get you, and what's rather strange is that since the gates have been closed I have received a number of complaints about the current opening hours. So to be clear you can still enter the reserve for free between 7am and 5pm, but this is about allowing access for those that want access after 5am and up and 7pm. As for the current security situation, it has improved dramatically for cyclists, runners and sightseers since the gates have been closed and access controlled. I'm rather surprised by this as the attendance by the guards has been haphazard to say the least but I expect this to improve in the near future and there is a good chance of Metro mounted police being stationed at the fort.

 

As for the trails the intention is to use the excess annual fee to maintain and build more trails once the gates have been paid for. So watch this space your help could be needed!

[River Rat]

A more realistic approach is the mooted commercialization of the site, like putting up viewing decks and food vendors. This will bring in the cash flow which can then cover the security costs.

 

If you then ask a smaller annual riding/running fee people it will start to make sense.

 

I doubt that the runners and cyclists who are willing to pay for security will generate enough income to cover the security required to make it safe.

 

I am happy to be proven wrong, this is just where my head is at currently.

At this stage we are only looking for a fee to fund an automatic gate to allow extended access. The gate guards are to be funded by Council with some possible assistance from the adjacent estates. Commercialization has been mooted but because we have a nature reserve and a heritage site to deal with so this calls for a Evironmental and Heritage impact assessments to be done first. Then Council will have to call for proposals in an open tender procurement process. I tried this approach two years ago without getting support from the officials involved, but this option is being championed by the ward councillor so who knows.

[River Rat]

 I have just tallied the results of this snap survey across a variety of community, cycling and running platforms and we have had 152 responses so far. 133 people are prepared to pay an annual fee with 103 indicating that they would support a R250 annual fee per person and 30 were prepared to pay more. The remainder were not prepared to pay for extended access hours. The estimated cost per gate is roughly R25K, this is for an automated gate that is linked to the mobile numbers of paid up members. It is difficult to ascertain how many people that have indicated their willingness to pay will actually do so, but equally I think I have only canvassed half the potential market. So using the number of 133 at R250 we have just a bit more than enough for one gate. So I believe that we will need some sponsorship if we want two gates and I am actively looking for these kind hearted benefactors. If you know of anyone that’s prepared to come on board please give me their details. I have canvassed FGNR to act as the facilitator for the project and I am waiting for their feedback, I am hoping that we can get them to institute a membership fee equal to the R250 needed to fund this project.

[Nibali]

Bit late to the party, sorry RR.

 

Will admit, when I moved back to Pta end of last year I was way too scared to head back to Klapperkop. Took a chance one Tuesday morning and happened to come across a big bunch of people doing laps, so that helped. Still didn't take the fear away from riding the first loop over on my own. So if I can pay to remove the fear, I most definitely will.

 

Thanks for everything you do to try and keep Klapperkop and Groenkloof safe.

[River Rat]

Bit late to the party, sorry RR.

 

Will admit, when I moved back to Pta end of last year I was way too scared to head back to Klapperkop. Took a chance one Tuesday morning and happened to come across a big bunch of people doing laps, so that helped. Still didn't take the fear away from riding the first loop over on my own. So if I can pay to remove the fear, I most definitely will.

 

Thanks for everything you do to try and keep Klapperkop and Groenkloof safe.

Understandable, if you were there between 8 and 10am on Tuesday you might have seen my group of 5-6 doing laps.

[Cav']

What is the current opening time in the mornings?

[Spinnekop]

What is the current opening time in the mornings?

Take a friend or two with.

See there was an attack again there some time this week from what I can see on social media

[Rowl]

Take a friend or two with.

See there was an attack again there some time this week from what I can see on social media

You referring to this?

https://www.iol.co.za/pretoria-news/walk-at-klapperkop-nature-reserve-turns-into-horror-24248036

[Spinnekop]

You referring to this?

https://www.iol.co.za/pretoria-news/walk-at-klapperkop-nature-reserve-turns-into-horror-24248036

That's the one I saw, yes