20-06-2025
Residents demand action as Stamvrug Street deteriorates
Businesses and residents along Stamvrug Street in Val-de-Grace near Meyerspark are calling on the metro to urgently resurface and repair the road, which has been plagued by potholes for years.
According to residents, the road has not seen proper maintenance since 2015, and its condition has deteriorated significantly.
Numerous complaints have been lodged with the municipality, but these have either been ignored or followed up by temporary patch-up jobs that deteriorate within months, leaving the road in an even worse state.
The residents said the state of the road poses a serious safety hazard as both lanes are damaged, making it difficult to navigate the heavy traffic on the road and the potholes.
They claim that the metro came to fix the potholes, but the work was very poor, and believe that it will not last a month.
Hennie Pelser from a business on the street said many businesses and residents have reported the poor condition of the road on several occasions, yet it is only getting worse.
'Every time it was repaired in the past, the repairs lasted only a couple of months, and then the deterioration started again. Unless the road is properly repaired, it will continue to deteriorate.'
Pelser said Stamvrug is used by many vehicles daily, due to the two office complexes and townhouses it serves.
He said that since the metro was not forthcoming regarding the proper repairs, they found quotations for basic repair, medium repair, and proper repair for the road.
'The contractor has a very good name and personally came to inspect the state of the road before quoting.'
The quotations amounted to more than R100 000.
'At Stamvrug Street, the best we can do is to work on that quotation for slurry seal [asphalt], or if the budget is not yet allocated, we can redo the pothole patching. The municipality was using a very poor quality product that would not even last for months. So, it's best we remove it and put something that will carry us for a longer period,' he explained.
He said the municipal teams last week came but just did a quick patch job. Not all potholes were filled, he added.
'This is a long-standing issue, which the city is attending to sporadically, and then in three months, all potholes are back. The state of the road forces people to drive on the wrong side of the road, some driving on mountable curbs and sidewalks.'
Liane Renicke from a business on the street said the metro needs to resolve this issue urgently.
'The road is worsening day by day, and the potholes are becoming too many due to the traffic. We would appreciate it if the city could come and attend to this and repair the road,' she said.
The issue starts from the intersection of Stamvrug and Naboom streets, where potholes are forming on the circle all the way up to the HB Forum building.
Tshidi Lesunyane said potholes on Stamvrug Street are now posing a danger to both motorists and pedestrians.
'The road conditions are now impacting traffic flow and could potentially lead to vehicle damage or even accidents. We demand that Tshwane do their job and fix the road.'
Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo acknowledged that while complaints had been received and attended to in both 2024 and 2025, the city operates on a reactive maintenance system.
Mashigo said no formal assessments of Stamvrug Street were conducted this year as no complaints had been lodged until the one received on June 6.
'The city responds based on complaints received, and without such notifications, maintenance is not initiated.'
He added that while potholes on Stamvrug Street will be addressed, the deeper structural cracks require full resurfacing, something that cannot be done without budget approval.
'The city will attend to the potholes, but the cracks can only be properly repaired by removing the current asphalt and resurfacing the road. This has budget implications,' said Mashigo.
When asked about the turnaround time for pothole repairs, he added that the city is currently battling a significant maintenance backlog caused by limited resources.
'Resurfacing will depend on the availability of funds and alignment with the city's resurfacing programme,' he said.
Mashigo added that Tshwane relies on a reactive maintenance approach, and that means teams are dispatched only once complaints are lodged.
As frustrations continue to mount, residents and business owners say they will continue to escalate the matter until long-term solutions are implemented.
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