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From top to bottom
Former regular visitors
are steering clear of Colesberg and its quaint guest houses like
Toverberg due to the continuous presence of noisy trucks.
This sign is
intended to keep the side streets quiet but is ignored by truckers
who park not only in the main street but also in the picturesque
side streets.
Wherever you look
in Colesberg you will see a guest house. Tourism is the town’s
biggest employer and source of income – and this now all stands
threatened.
A quiet moment
on the main street shows the character of the town without trucks.
However, the truck on the right - parked on the wrong side of the
road – is a tell-tale sign of what the townsfolk face on a daily
basis.
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The little Karoo town of Colesberg which lies halfway between Cape Town and Johannesburg on the N1 is taking strain. Founded in 1829, Colesberg is one of the oldest towns in South Africa and yet its survival is being threatened by the presence of hundreds of trucks which pass through the town 24/7.
FleetWatch managing editor Patrick O'Leary was invited by the Colesberg Accommodation and Hospitality Association to visit the town to assess the situation. There's a serious problem here.
"Either the trucks go or I go." This is the crossroad that Liz Southey, owner of Coniston House, one of the oldest guest houses in Colesberg, has reached. Her frustration comes from years of having to put up with noisy trucks passing her guest house at all times of the day and night disturbing not only her daily life, but also the sleep of her paying guests. "We can't sleep at night and the noise during the day is a constant persecution."
As if the noise was not enough, she's also had to put up with abuse from truck drivers when she's asked them to move their trucks from where they've parked illegally - on a red line in a No Stopping zone - across the entrance to her driveway thus blocking in her guests. Her husband was recently punched by a truck driver when he asked the guy to move his rig from the entrance."The trucks have made it almost impossible to live here and it has become increasingly difficult to run our businesses," is what Southey told me.
Adding credence to this latter point, Coniston House, which was built in 1835 by Thomas Plewman, an 1820 settler and has remained in the family to this day, has two upstairs rooms overlooking the street. Southey now finds that guests will not occupy those two rooms due to the noise of the trucks keeping them awake all night.
"I'm losing R1 750 per night through not letting those rooms. And my business is not the only one suffering. All the guest houses in the town are finding the same problems," she says.
Her sentiments were indeed echoed by members of the Colesberg Accommodation and Hospitality Association (AHA) to whom I spoke. "I've had angry guests waking me up in the middle of the night asking for a refund of their money. Some have been furious asking why I didn't tell them of the truck problem," says Brian Kenmuir of The Lighthouse, one of the town's most well-known guest houses which is situated on the main street where the trucks park and pass 24/7.
The web page of The Lighthouse states: "Come and experience the unique old-time atmosphere of Colesberg when you breathe fresh Karoo air while walking our safe streets, or recline in our comfortable sitting room or tranquil garden in a friendly home-from-home atmosphere."
It may well have been like that in the distant past but nowadays, the only person who will find the atmosphere of Colesberg as resembling that of a "home-from-home" will be a truck driver.
The "fresh Karoo air" is also no longer having been replaced by pollution fumes which are having an effect on some of the townsfolk, Southey being one. "I now suffer from vertigo caused by noxious exhaust fumes. This is a very unpleasant affliction which affects one's balance. It is dangerous and I am often anxious when crossing roads or walking on rough ground as I fear falling". Her fear is exacerbated by the fact that she has also had two hip prostheses.
As for "walking our safe streets", many of the locals expressed their concern of it only being a matter of time until someone is killed by the trucks. "The pavements are narrow and someone is going to get hurt. We are particularly concerned about the school children who walk down the road where the trucks come into town," says Carl Gronum, chairperson of the Colesberg AHA.
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And then there's the "tranquil garden" bit that is also no longer. "On several occasions when we have entertained in our garden on a Sunday, we have counted anything between 60 to 80 trucks passing non-stop north and south between 12.00pm and 2.00pm. It has become impossible to entertain outside anymore," says Southey.
Another member of the Association told how he had to close the front portion of his guest house as he found it impossible to rent the rooms fronting the main road due to the trucks disturbing the guests. He turned this section into a coffee house.
During our one-and-a-half hour meeting with the Association members, my good friend Liam Hickey who accompanied me on the visit, counted a total of 90 trucks passing in 90 minutes - most of them long haul rigs with many interlinks among them. There were times when we battled to hear each other speaking due to the passing trucks. And don't forget, it's just a tiny town with one tiny main road running through it.
The reason why the locals are now voicing their concern is due to the fact that word is getting out that Colesberg is no longer a desirable stop-over point for travelers and guest houses are finding a fall-off in visitor numbers. Some of the owners have to offer rooms at uneconomical rates just to attract customers.
According to the Association, there are 1 600 beds available in 45 guest houses - 20 of which are full-time, permanent businesses and the balance comprise houses which open their rooms to guests during peak periods.
'If we have just 30% occupancy on average per year, the turnover for the town is in the region of R22-million. This is now decreasing and our fear is that it won't be long before this income is cut off completely due to visitors no longer stopping over due to the truck problem. If this happens, between 500 to 600 families will be affected as tourism is the town's biggest employer and source of income, Tourism keeps this town alive and if tourism dies, so too will Colesberg die," says Jurie van Wyk, AHA secretary and owner of the beautifully restored Toverburg Guest Houses situated next to the Dutch Reformed Church, which itself dates back to 1866.
Equally disturbing is that the young people in the town are also
talking of leaving if the problem continues. Jana Holtzhausen, a
delightful young lady who, apart from teaching at the local school,
is a shareholder in The Gossip coffee and gift shop in the main
road. She also lives in a flat above the Standard Bank in the main
road and is finding the situation totally frustrating. "I have
come to hate the trucks. They own this town and it is horrible
situation."
According to Holtzhausen, trucks constantly park in front of her
coffee shop cutting her business off from potential customers.
"I am also woken up continuously during the night not only by
the constant stream of trucks driving through the town and blowing
their hooters, but also by those drivers who stop and park under my
flat.
"I came here two years ago and
found a nice town with friendly people in a beautiful Karoo setting.
I am sorry to say, however, that all this is being destroyed by the
trucks."
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Right, from top to
bottom
And here’s
the reality where the
narrow main street of Colesberg is jam packed with trucks. We
counted 90 trucks passing in 90 minutes – one per minute. This
activity goes on 24 hours of the day with the only respite being
early in the morning when the trucks have left and others have yet
to arrive.
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Will this force her to
leave? "Yes, I could leave unless the problem is sorted out,"
she answers. The Colesberg Municipal Council, which according to residents
has up to now has done nothing to help find solutions, would do well to
take note of this young lady's concerns. Every town needs young people for
its sustainability and future. In Colesberg, the trucks are chasing the
youngsters away.
And if all this is not
enough to spur the Council into action, they might well consider the fact
that recent research done by a lady employed by the Bill Gates Foundation
showed that whereas the HIV/AIDS infection rate in the Kuyasa township
situated at the bottom of the main road was 12% some four years ago, this
had risen to 59% in 2007. The population of Kuyasa is estimated at around
20 000. This is bad news for the town, its residents and for truck
drivers.
Where to from here?
So what are the potential solutions? Where to from here for Colesberg? In
this edition we have outlined the problems trucks are causing in the town.
In the next edition, we will look at life from the truck driver's side of
the cab and also explore potential short and long term solutions which
could lead to a win-win for all. We will also try talk to the Municipal
Mayor for the Council's views.
The only Councilor serving on the Municipal Council who I managed to speak
to during my visit was Gaik van Niekerk who, while admitting the problem
said: "I don't know how to handle it. I don't know what to do."
He also admitted not being directly affected by the problem. "I stay
out at the foot of the mountain so I don't hear the trucks."
Mmmmm! Enough said.
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Colesberg Chaos
 
Guesthouse
blues
 Liz
Southey outside Coniston
Guest House which she runs with her husband Mike, is at the end of
her tether at the behaviour of trucks such as the one above which
has parked across her entrance denying her and her guests access
into and out of the premises. Note the same truck bottom left. The
guest house sign is prominently displayed but truck drivers choose
to ignore it and park anyway. "Up yours" is seemingly
becoming the norm.
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Businesses
suffering
Running a coffee
shop in ‘truckland’ has become a nightmare for coffee and gift
shop shareholder Jana Holtzhausen. As a teacher at the town’s high
school, she is also concerned for the safety of the kids on the
roads.
Carl Gronum, chairman of
the Colesberg AHA, had to close the rooms fronting the street of his
guest house, Traveller’s Joy. He feels the situation has got
totally out of control.
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Concerned
residents
Concerned resident Ernest
Hugo (far left), joined committee members of the Colesberg
Accommodation and Hospitality Association (AHA) in spelling out the
town’s situation to FleetWatch. The members seen
here are from left: Jurie van Wyk, Liz Southey and Brian Kenmuir,
all owners of guest houses in the town. |
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Compromise
needed
Werner Botha has come
back from Cape Town to Colesberg, the town where his mom served as
deputy mayor for many years. He reckons the problem will persist
until a compromise is reached in meeting the needs of the
townsfolk and those of the truckers. But, that’s another story
which we will highlight in our March edition.
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Hard
to relax
Former Colesberg councilor
Blom Viljoen (right) and his wife Petru with a friend at The
Gossip coffee shop. It’s difficult holding a conversation when a
truck passes just metres from your table every minute. Viljoen
says that in the 45 years he has lived in Colesberg, he has never
known the truck problem to be as bad as it is now. |
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Not
to name and shame
Although highlighting the
company name of this truck parked across the entrance to Coniston
Guest House, this is not intended as a ‘name and shame’
exercise. The trucks of most prominent truck companies driving the
N1 can be seen in this town. FleetWatch is spelling
out the problem. There has to be a solution which we will explore
in the March edition. |
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Inadequate
truck stop facilities
Of course,
there are always two sides to every story
and although the balance of this story will have to wait for our
next edition, FleetWatch does recognize that truck
drivers, after reaching the half-way mark between Johannesburg and
Cape Town, need to rest and take it easy. Judging by what we saw
of the truck stops on either side of Colesberg, the facilities are
nowhere near adequate to provide such rest. There is also nowhere
near enough parking space for the truckers. The town is suffering
as a result of this. |
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Fast
Food
Drivers often tell us
that truck stop food is not what they want. They prefer to buy
their own food and cook it themselves. Thus many drivers enter
Colesberg shop for their daily needs. That doesn’t excuse those
who come in at night when all shops are closed – or those
drivers who just drive through the town without stopping. More of
that in our next edition. |
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Prepared
to leave town
Eleanor Badenhorst who,
with her late husband, founded the well-known Lighthouse guest
house some 20 years ago, reckons the situation with the trucks has
become untenable. "I do not want to but I am prepared to
leave Colesberg and start somewhere else," she says. She has
already handed over the reins of the guest house to her daughter
and son-inlaw. Seeing long-time residents leave because of people
being unable to find solutions will be a terrible tragedy for this
area. |
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