The UIP aims to ensures Florida Roads public spaces are well managed, safe, clean and maintained which enables a great experience of Florida Road for locals and visitors alike.
Supplementary Service – Safe and Secure
The UIP has a proactive approach to security, with the focus of identifying possible criminal intent before it occurs and taking corrective action. It does this by deploying two capacitated security officers in a dedicated vehicle that patrols the area 24 hour, 7 day a week in public areas.
The Florida Road UIP (Urban Improvement Precinct) has engaged Ensure Security Group as its security provider following a rigorous tender process. The performance of Ensure Security Group is continuously assessed against a Service Level Agreement (SLA), which is adapted to suit the evolving security demands of the precinct. Effective from June 1, 2023, additional security measures have been implemented on Florida Road, including the deployment of a new security vehicle and the assignment of a Tactical Guard.
Reporting any criminal activity or suspicious behaviour is strongly encouraged, with the option to report online or via a dedicated contact number at 086 111 6113.
Building partnerships with the SAPF, Metro Police and the Community Policing Forum is critical in ensuring effective management. The UIP has a strong working relationship with both Metro Police and SAPS, resulting in a Safer Florida Rd for All.
Sidewalk Monitor Programme
The issue of ‘car guards’ and vagrancy was one of Florida Rd’s biggest challenges, affecting every aspect of the road from perceptions of safety to the quality of the experience when people visit the area. In October 2015, the UIP rolled out the Florida Rd Sidewalk Monitor Programme, with the support of the eThekwini Municipality, Metro Police and SAPS Berea, as a way to counter this challenge and the success has been palpable.
Although prevalent in Durban, ‘car guarding’ is illegal, and poses a number of challenges in terms of undesirable people ’guarding’ cars and the illegal activities they are sometimes associated with, such as intimidation, selling drugs, remote jamming and vehicle theft.
In contrast, the Sidewalk Monitor Programme is a carefully planned initiative aimed at ensuring a uniform and well-managed Sidewalk Monitor service that deploys vetted individuals whose strong presence have discouraged that of the vagrant car guards.
The monitors report for roll-call each morning and are dispatched to their “section” of road. The monitors are identifiable by their distinctive red and black branded uniform as well as the photo-ID name badges they all wear. They have all had background criminal checks and are managed by the UIP and its ‘service provider Ensure Security Group.
The monitors are extra eyes and ears on the road, alerting the UIP patrol and/or the authorities to any criminal activity or bylaw infringement, and adding another layer to the crime prevention initiatives undertaken by the UIP. Additional duties include litter picking their area of operation, removal of outdated advertising boards and the reporting of faults along the public open space.
The UIP pay them a subsidy to relieve some of their financial burden but they rely on the public for tips.
UIP Security Resourcing
The Florida Road UIP (Urban Improvement Precinct) has engaged Ensure Security Group as its security provider following a rigorous tender process, starting from 01 April 2022. The performance of Ensure Security Group is continuously assessed against a Service Level Agreement (SLA), which is adapted to suit the evolving security demands of the precinct. Effective from June 1, 2023, additional security measures have been implemented on Florida Road, including the deployment of a new security vehicle and the assignment of a Tactical Guard. This reinforcement is specifically allocated to the night shift, covering Thursday through Sunday each week, enhancing safety and security during these hours.
Reporting any criminal activity or suspicious behaviour is strongly encouraged, with the option to report online or via a dedicated contact number at 086 111 6113.
Supplementary Services – Clean and Maintained
The UIP has a team of 6 cleaning and greening staff working on a rotation basis seven days a week. Added to this, the UIP co-ordinates cleaning blitz operations where large groups of cleaner come in to undertake major clean-ups. These services do not replace those of the municipality, but rather supplement what is being done, with the objective of setting the service standards of public areas at levels expected of Florida Rd property and business owners.
Besides day to day cleaning of public areas including streets, pavements and parks, and greening routines, which include grass cutting, watering and planter bed maintenance, the UIP is consistently working at improving the quality of public areas. Maintenance and cleaning projects are captured in the monthly operational reports and focus on:
- General maintenance requirements to public area infrastructure
- Identifying and executing greening and beautification projects
- Removing graffiti
- Ensuring maintenance of public area signage
Special Projects
Over and above the daily services provided by the UIP, there has been a strong focus on visibly improving the look and feel of Florida Rd. Given the limited budget of the Florida Rd UIP, the choice of improvement projects are very carefully considered and weighted towards visible and impactful projects which will have a long-term benefit to enhancing the experience of Florida Road.
Optimising Service Delivery
Optimising municipal service levels and lobbying for investment in infrastructure is a core focus of the management team. For this reason, the UIP conducts an audit of infrastructure faults: lights out, damaged signage, blocked sewers, potholes, etc. on a daily basis.
The faults are reported through the municipal fault reporting call centre and, if relevant, a photo of the fault is emailed to the responsible person at the municipality. If it is an urgent matter, it is also followed up telephonically.
Faults are logged on a UIP management system and followed up on a regular basis until repaired. For this reason a large proportion of the UIP management time is allocated to optimising municipal service delivery.
The UIP, on behalf of members and associated members, actively participates in the Municipal Planning Forums to ensure that property owners’ interests are brought to the fore at the planning phase of public area infrastructure. Importantly, the UIP experience gained from servicing public areas is fed back into design phase of upgrades with the aim of ensuring functionality and aesthetic design which is cost effective to service and maintain.
Communication with UIP members and stakeholders
Florida Rd UIP communication is focused on levy paying members, businesses and the broader local community through sharing precinct related communications such as monthly insights, ad hoc newsflashes, social media posts and community
engagement. The story told has shown the value of the UIP by highlighting its team’s operational successes, as well as UIP motivated infrastructure and service delivery successes from the Municipality.
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