More than 300 people have been coming from across Cape Town to “burn rubber” at illegal events being held at the Lentegeur sports field over these past two weeks.
Ward 116 councillor Michael Pietersen, said people have been trespassing, stealing gates and wheel spinning on the tar car park at Lentegeur. “This becomes a health hazard and a safety hazard for people who are present at these events, if the necessary people are not on stand-by,” he said.
“It (also) becomes a noise nuisance to the neighbours.”
Sipho Mabeta, head of recreation for the City of Cape Town said they were willing to meet with the organisers to ensure the proper safety measures were taken. “They were wheel spinning illegally. This does not mean we should not engage with them. We will have a meeting with event organisers to assist them and educate them on this matter. People not adhering to the proper structures put in place for events like this will be arrested as they are liable for whatever happens at these events.”
Robert Wright, superintendent for Metro Police central operations, added that those at the events faced arrest for trespassing.
Nkosinathi Wana, an inspector with the Traffic Department, said education was key to addressing the matter. “We try to do a lot of damage control, trying to help and assist people. They, however, need to be educated on this. This problem could eventually spiral out of control if we don’t deal with it now.
“We should put up a motion for a land we can use in Mitchell’s Plain, that we are not using for parks and recreation.”
However, said Mr Pietersen, it was important to carefully consider the location of the land. “A facility for this sport is needed but we cannot have a facility like this in a residential area. We need to look at an alternative solution,” he said.