Limited public parking in Vredenburg and fines issued have left many residents upset.
One of the major concerns among residents is the parking space and time limit in front of the Sassa offices in Bree Street, which result in fines being issued to the elderly who visit the Sassa offices. According to Sammy Springleer, a resident of Vredenburg the parking bays only allow for one hour parking. Springleer said the average waiting time spend per applicant at the Sassa offices is five hours on any specific day. “The elderly stand in line from before 05:00 and end up finishing about 12:00 by the earliest. Among the applicants are people in wheelchairs and elderly folk who wait in their cars for offices to open at 08:00. What is saddening is that traffic officers from Saldanha Bay Municipality (SBM) target these poor people. They are forced to spend hours in the offices with the application process and then be issued with fines for parking longer than an hour. Bearing in mind that it is impossible to finish within one hour,” said Springleer.
Not only are visitors to the Sassa offices fined, but people who park to conduct business at the various businesses in the area also get fined.
Local resident Marius Basson recently received a fine in Bree Street after conducting official business nearby. “I was busy for about 2,5 hours. I feel unhappy as I am not aware of alternative public parking nearby. The municipality must give us an indication of where they expect the public to park if they may be working at one of the businesses or have to do official business that will take more than an hour,” said Basson.
Another concerned resident said it is disheartening that members of the public frequenting Sassa are being fined heavily for using the parking adjacent to their offices. “Workers are suffering the same fate, indiscriminately, as anyone parking longer than an hour is receiving fines.
“Due to the crime in the town of late, there is a need for a solution, a viable solution to the problems encountered.
“Parking, safe parking, is a necessity for staff and clients across our town,” the resident said.
Tereza Burger, spokesperson of SBM said Sassa office is situated in a business-zoned area with designated parking available on its premises. “While public parking on Bree and Plain Streets is limited, it serves multiple businesses in the Vredenburg CBD. The municipality has the obligation and strive to enforce parking regulations equitably across all establishments.”
Burger said those who receive parking fines, can follow the process to submit representation to the State Prosecutor or make use of the 50% discount campaign that the municipality is currently running.
“Persons affected can contact the SBM traffic department for information and assistance in this regard. Additionally, we encourage individuals with disabilities to apply for disability parking discs, which can be displayed while parking near Sassa.
“Eligible applicants must have their forms completed by a medical doctor.
The municipality will continue to engage directly with Sassa on this matter,” Burger added.
