I have noticed a number of questions being raised on social media enquiring as to the safety of Groenkloof and Klapperkop Nature Reserves, so I thought it might help to give an update as to the safety of the two reserves. First the good news there has been no attacks on visitors to Groenkloof since May 2016 this means that the security upgrades and patrols have effectively stopped this criminal activity. So if you were one of those that signed the petition you can pat yourself on the back for a job well done. I’m also grateful to those of you that were able and made the effort to attend the “Town Hall” meeting, you certainly strengthened our hand in making our demands more vocal than just another petition. Unfortunately our success in Groenkloof had a detrimental effect on the safety in Klapperkop and we have had numerous attacks in this reserve since the security upgrades effectively displaced the criminal element from Groenkloof. The good news is that since the introduction of the Nature Conservation “Patrols” in mid-2017 these have declined dramatically but not totally. I have had reports of a car hi jacking and a mugging that took place in Klapperkop over the holiday period during the day fortunately no one was physically harmed. I also have unconfirmed reports of attacks at night with visitors being stabbed; I have tried to get details of this but to no avail. This brings us to the plan for Klapperkop, it is clear that although the Nature Conservation “Patrols” have had a positive impact it’s not perfect. These are ordinary staff members with no formal security training and the fact that they’re not there at night leaves night visitors extremely exposed. In fact the majority of attacks that I am aware of have occurred after dark. To address this, the plan is to close off this reserve at night between 19h00 and 5h00 and to control access to the reserve during the day. If you want to enter the reserve you will be required to produce a formal identity document and to sign in when you enter and to sign out when you exit , this regardless whether you are a motorist, cyclist or pedestrian. If you are a regular visitor, as I am, you will have the opportunity to purchase a year entrance pass which will make entering and exiting a lot easier. Obviously residents at the Fort will be accommodated. There is currently an impact assessment underway and you will have noticed that traffic counters have been installed to assess the impact, particularly during the night. This has been paid for by the Friends of Groenkloof Nature Reserve who will also appoint a traffic engineer to facilitate this process. There will be a public engagement process so that interested and affected parties can table their concerns; I will give details of this once it is available. You can also expect signage to be erected at the entrances to the reserve that with give these details as well. As you can see from the above the council is making a huge effort to make these reserves safer so it’s our duty to support them and unfortunately the visitor numbers to Groenkloof indicates that we aren’t. I have been given the visitor numbers for the six month period between July and December for comparison in 2015 15 340 people visited the park of which 6 540 were mountain bikers; in 2016 this dropped to 8 400 and 2 200 mountain bikers while for 2017 the visitors were 10 700 and 1 600 mountain bikers. The good news is that trail runners, hikers and general visitors are starting to frequent the reserve again but the mountain bike numbers are continuing to fall. I believe it only fair that we should show our appreciation for what the council has done by visiting this reserve again. I’m afraid if we don’t this might make the council think twice has to where it should spend its money and this could put the Klapperkop initiative at risk. So appeal to all of you, especially the mountain bike community to help in this regard. After all, it is your city and your park.