FOR many years residents in 7de Laan, Maak ’n Las and Jeugkamp in Humansdorp have been left frustrated due to the lack of street signs and boards, which among other challenges, has made it difficult for emergency services to locate people staying in these areas.
According to Jonathan Phyllis, who has been living in 7de Laan for the past 20 years, the area in which he stays, and multiple other areas in Humansdorp, have been without street names for many years.
He said, since his house was the first seen when entering the area, people often stood in front of his gate to wait for emergency services.
“When people call any type of emergency services they have to stand in front of my yard. Some people complain because when they call for an emergency vehicle at night they have to walk to my house to wait in the dark until the emergency vehicle arrives, which can be very dangerous,” said Phyllis.
Apart from the difficulties residents faced with emergency services battling to find their houses, Phyllis said each time he needs to fill out a job application or any other formal application he needs to use his erf number, since he does not have a street address.
In addition, he said, since the area does not appear on Google Maps, he is not able to buy any online products.
“It is embarrassing to have to fill in a form without a street address,” said Phyllis.
He said residents have reported the matter to the municipality on multiple occasions.
Phyllis said, going forward, he hopes the matter will be taken seriously and the dignity of the community will be restored, so that they can take their place as registered settlements in South Africa.
“If the Kouga Municipality decides to continue with the process of providing us with street names, I would like for the community to be involved with providing insight into the names of the streets,” said Phyllis.
According to Kouga Municipality planning and development portfolio Councillor, Ben Rheeder, the municipality is in the process of approving street names for the different areas, as there are currently no official street names.
Rheeder said once approved by council, the process to secure and erect the name boards would start.
In addition, he said, name boards to identify the different areas would also be erected, when approved.
“The naming of these streets will not only give residents a form of identity, but it will also provide for easy identification and for ease of movement,” said Rheeder.
“It will furthermore prevent unnecessary confusion and assist with deliveries, such as medication, at a physical address in a specific area.”
