Season almost over but time to start thinking about St Francis Bay’s future
Although the great exodus is particularly noticeable by the number of boats being towed in a direction away from the canals, both the village and Cape St Francis still remain pretty well populated with holidaymakers. With the schools starting far later this year it certainly has given us the benefit of an extended holiday season that will have benefitted the shops and hospitality businesses.
One of the biggest problems during the holidays is the congestion on our roads. It may be unavoidable and it can be frustrating at times but no matter the frustration the rules of the road are still there to be obeyed. Of major concern and certainly something St Francis Property Owners Association (SFPO) has recognised is St Francis Drive itself. It is extremely narrow for a major thoroughfare and come holiday time both cyclists and pedestrian are cramped onto its narrow confines, constantly in danger of being knocked over by a speeding motorist. The speed limit is 50K but few seem to care and especially Kouga Traffic who are conspicuous by their absence, not only along St Francis Drive but around the village in general and it is a miracle that no one has been injured this year.
In SPFO Chairman Wayne Fyfie’s address to property owners at the Links on Wednesday 3rd January he highlighted plans for the road improvements in the new proposedSRA that has just been launched by SFPO. Although there will be insufficient funds to totally widen and rebuild St Francis Drive, there are plans to construct a bicycle track / pedestrian walkway from Seaglades Drive on the canals running the entire length of St Francis drive although initially it should at least reach the CBD. Also on the cards are plans to tidy up the parking areas from opposite the spar centre right through to the Blue Bottle bottle store. At the moment this is chaos in season and a little planning will go a long way to improving the entire area including pedestrian crossings and intersections. Bruce Brooker has submitted a rather natty drawing of an intersection (see below). Details of the new SRA proposal at the reduced rate of 25% can be viewed on the property owners proposal on the SFPO website.
The major intersections are also on the plans particularly the roads intersecting with St Francis Drive and Lyme Roads north & south.
Having scaled back the proposed SRA from the initial 50% proposed last year to the 15% in the new proposal and to a far smaller area of St Francis there will not be the funds to do all that was proposed last year but what is on the plans will certainly improve St Francis aesthetically and improve the safety of cyclists and pedestrians.
It is thus interesting to read comments from readers that because they don’t live near the beach nor CBD within the demarcated area that is subject of the proposed SRA, that they should, as with Santareme, be excluded and not form part of the SRA. SFPO has explained at length the reason for excluding the Santareme , Links and other areas but it seems some just cannot accept reality or they just have bothered to read the proposal. It truly is not a matter of gerrymandering but rather being realistic and practical.
That St Francis is losing its beach is FACT, ask any of our recent visitors. The beach, along with the spit, are an absolute priority and St Francis Bay cannot afford to lose any more of the coastline to the sea. Possibly those who feel they should not contribute to the beach and spit could at least think about your contribution going towards the roads and the safety of others in the village.
Then again maybe they will start to worry when the sea eventually encroaches onto St Francis Drive destroying most of the golf course and having to shop in Spar wearing waders. Maybe opportunity for a fresh fish counter – “catch while you shop”!
The average business person in St Francis Bay is filled with a mixture of relief and trepidation when seeing boats being towed inland after the season. Relief that the congestion on our roads is reduced and one is able to reclaim the relaxed village life style, trepidation, in that one wonders when the next peak in foot traffic will occur to boost turnover.
The clarion call that rings out every year at this time is “It would be nice to have a little less a little more often
The life blood of the village clearly revolves around tourism and it is concerning to see the St Francis Bay tourism budget barely being able to pay for the rental of premises and salary of staff
Despite this tourism with the help of volunteers has been successfully running and administering the morning market and have promoted events such as the Calamari Classic, sporting events, and concerts in the park to mention a few.
St Francis Tourism have over the years attempted to attract tour buses to deviate from the N2 and expose tourists to the delights of our picturesque village, if not only to fill up with diesel and or to break the journey, enjoy a cup of coffee do some site seeing and take a few selfies at the canals, the beach and or the port. To a large extent this has eluded all of the tourism committees over the years. Buses traveling on the R62 route from Cape Town to Addo, if they do make a stop, do so at the Humansdorp Caltex garage and very rarely venture towards St Francis Bay.
On the face of it one can’t help wondering what the attraction would be to especially foreigners to visit a petrol station, sporting facilities such as a wimpy bar and a woollies. To sit and sip a cup of coffee over-looking an array of petrol and diesel bowzers and posing for a selfie with a stop street in the middle background and a vandalized copper clad pantheon surrounded with security fencing topped with razor wire in the distance can’t surely constitute a fond memory of a visit to Africa.
The question to be asked is why?
I am of the opinion that the reason is simply that there are no public toilets sufficiently hygienic, and easily accessible that would live up to the expectations of a foreign traveler, nor any designated bus parking bays available in the village.
Apart from these facilities that are lacking, the village has no heart or central square with which to identify the village unlike Plett and Knysna, where one finds parking for buses, toilets, and a properly equipped and manned tourism office.
Our village has the potential for these components to all happen in our market square, and to co-exist with the already established functions.With minor alterations to our Municipal buildings Tourism could have a home with the ablutions made accessible to visitors.
As a “business” person I support the SRA “Marshal plan” and trust that the improvements envisaged will make a real difference in line with the St Francis Property owners Association, manifesto.