Road surfaces and verges of the provincial road network in the Kouga Local Municipality are in a parlous state. Many people believe that the maintenance of these roads is the responsibility of the Municipality. This is not true.

Look at the map below. Other than the N2, all the major rural roads in the KLM are maintained by the Eastern Cape Department of Transport. These are the R330, R331, R332 and R102. Also included are the  through routes in Jeffreys Bay, Humansdorp, Hankey and Cape St Francis.

The Province is incapable of maintaining these roads, especially the road verges. Some years ago, the engineer in charge of provincial roads in the Sarah Baartman District told me that road maintenance is prioritized from the middle of the road outwards, and there was no budget for verge maintenance.

And it shows. The verges along all provincial roads are littered, overgrown and generally an eyesore. This is all bad news. Unkempt road verges create the impression amongst visitors and tourists that our municipality condones scruffiness and litter. Furthermore, the proliferation of vegetation – mostly highly flammable alien shrubs and trees – represents a traffic hazard as well as a fire risk.

On the other hand, verges that are managed according to the correct specifications – where a strip of mown grass fronts a band of natural vegetation of low stature, and litter is regularly removed – is an asset for tourism, a plus for fire risk reduction, and can operate as a biodiversity corridor by providing a haven for wildlife.

At present, anarchy rules on the road verges of the provincial road network in the KLM. Illegal activities such as advertising, construction of cycle paths, and dumping and littering abound. However, there are a few examples of good practice: the KLM manages verges in an around the entrances to the major towns; Woodlands Diary keeps the verges tidy on the section of the R330 between Humansdorp and the N2 interchange; the Cape St Francis Civics Association does the same on a 2-km stretch of the R330 north of the village; and local farmers manage a section of the R102 west of Humansdorp.

Although well-intentioned, these initiatives cover only a fraction of the provincial road network of the KLM. What is needed is a municipality-wide project to manage the verges of the provincial road network, based on the principles of the highly successful “Adopt-a-Highway” programme of North America (https://adoptahighway.net/). Civic associations and businesses undertake to

maintain the verges of a section of road in exchange for displaying signage that both advertises the programme and the sponsoring organization. Moreover, welcome jobs are created. It is a win-win-win initiative.

My recommendation is that the Civil and Water Engineering Directorate of the KLM take a lead in promoting and implementing an adopt-a-highway programme for the provincial road network of our region. I am sure there will be many civic organisations and businesses keen on joining. Using guidelines defined in the road network legislation, the KLM can ensure that best practice is implemented.

Imagine driving along the R102 between Jeffreys Bay and Humansdorp, enjoying a litter-free road, flanked by a neatly trimmed band of grass and corridor of low, indigenous vegetation resplendent with red hot pokers, graceful ericas and their sunbird pollinators. This is not a fantasy. So, let’s do it.

Richard Cowling

Cape St Francis

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