Blairgowrie, Johannesburg - Gauteng
Source articles originally published:
9 September 2024
17 February 2025
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 negatively affected.
How did they solve 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 worked with the Blairgowrie Residents Association (BRA) to raise 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.
So how did they do it:
- The community used the good standing of their community associations and residents’ associations to build awareness and get local support.
- They created success to spark more success - starting small and building momentum.
- They sought the support of local businesses for things like paint supplies.
- The BCA used their relationships with their local councillor to ensure that their repainting project fell within city regulations.
- On the back 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.
- The BCA was active in meetings with the city officials to ensure there was a clear understanding of the parties’ roles and responsibilities.
- They secured media coverage of their successes to sustain interest in the projects.
Get your community involved
Is there a community-driven group or caring business in your area? A dedicated group of committed people can effectively solve local problems.
Think about starting or joining community groups like a street WhatsApp group, residents' association, or community policing forum (CPF) to get help and to stay informed and involved in local issues.
How to set up a community group
How to start a residents’ association
How to set up a community policing forum
How to set up a neighbourhood watch
How to organise community action
How to use media to create pressure for change
Know your rights – how local government works
It’s important to understand how your local government works so that you can work with them to support what they are doing while your community continues to keep them accountable and deliver services on time. Remember you have a constitutional right to many of the services provided by local government, as well as to accountability and transparency, wherever you live and regardless of how much you earn. It is also where money collected from taxes and rates goes.
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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