Blairgowrie, Johannesburg - Gauteng
A few licks of paint, some good intentions, and a dose of community action came together as a makeover project for Blairgowrie in the suburb of Randburg in September 2024. By repainting faded and long-neglected kerbside street markings and street names, the initiative by the Blairgowrie Community Association (BCA) changed the appearance of the suburb and changed people’s mind about community action. It also got the attention of the municipality.
The repainting project, called Operation Sparkle, eventually had the spin-off of pushing the city council to establish a working relationship with the BCA. The aim was to work together to fix and manage Blairgowrie’s neglected public swimming pool and surrounding park. Work is now underway, with a reopening planned for 1 September, Spring Day 2025.
What was the problem?
For years residents in Blairgowrie have seen the upkeep and general maintenance of their suburbs dwindle to nothing.
With an absent council, parts of their suburb had turned into an eyesore. The faded road marking also became a hazard for road safety and a nightmare for navigating streets and roads.
Public amenities in the area, most noticeably the public swimming pool, had also been neglected for years with little maintenance done by the council. The park surrounding the pool was also badly affected.
How did they fix it?
When one person in the neighbourhood took it upon himself to repaint the black and white kerbside markings on his street, it sparked an idea for a member of the Blairgowrie Community Association (BCA), Marlies Bron.
It was June 2024. Bron recognised the potential to scale the efforts across the suburb and launched Operation Sparkle, with the intention to repaint all the faded kerbside markings and street names. Starting with just three volunteers they cleared overgrowth, cleaned areas and set about repainting and refreshing the stencilling of street names. As the suburb started looking better, it sparked the interest of others, who took up the challenge to also take responsibility for their streets.
The BCA along with the Blairgowrie Residents Association (BRA) raised funds. Each street’s residents contributed to buy its own laser-cut stencil and local businesses donated the correct paints and brushes for the project.
The project has been continuing – one kerb at a time. Bron said to The Randburg Sun: “We’d love to see the whole of Blairgowrie repainted - the community spirit has grown through this initiative.”
From the success of Operation Sparkle, the city council has recognised that they need to be open and supportive to different ways of working with residents. By the end of January 2025, the council made the unprecedented move to formalise a working relationship with the BCA to restore and manage the public swimming pool.
It was a decision reached between the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo, the BCA and the local ward councillor, Lucinda Harman.
What made it work:
Building strong community association - The community used the good standing of their community associations and residents’ associations to build awareness and to get local support.
Using success stories for impact - They created success to spark more success. They started small but built and maintained momentum.
Bringing business on board - They sought the support of local businesses for things like paint supplies.
Building relationships with the authorities - The BCA used their relationships with their local councillor to ensure that their repainting project fell within city regulations. The members were also active in meeting with city officials to ensure there is a clear understanding of everyone’s roles and responsibilities.
Being in good standing - Because of the success of Operation Sparkle, the BCA had a good reputation. This made it easier to negotiate with the city council on the pool project.
Using media - They secured media coverage of their successes to sustain interest in the projects.
Acknowledgements
Author: FixLocal Reporter
Original articles/ sources:
Blairgowrie residents rejuvenate suburb with street curb repainting project
www.citizen.co.za/randburg-sun/news-headlines/2024/09/09/blairgowrie-curbs-rejuvenated/
SEE | A Joburg community painted their own pavements – now a partnership sees them clean up the pool
Photograph: The Randburg Sun
Johannesburg
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