I’m sure many of the 200 people who left their cosy homes on the evening of July 20th in the bucketing rain to fill the Alphen Community Hall expected the meeting to be about saving the trees in the Lower Tokai Park. Instead it was about saving lives.

Nicky Schmidt, the driving force behind the event and chairperson of a group called Parkscape, is determined that 16-year old Franziska Blöchliger will not have died in vain. In early March, as we all painfully remember, Franziska was running on the sand track adjacent to the pines and parallel to Orpen Road when her assailants grabbed and dragged her into the too-tall fynbos where she was brutally raped and murdered.

“We know there are people living in the fynbos. We’ve found the signs. Some may be harmless but because muggers know it’s possible to hide without detection, they are drawn to these secret places. Accidents are just waiting to happen…..”

According to the opening speaker Andre van Schalkwyk, who runs Table Mountain Watch, which works hard to restore visitor confidence and improve safety in Table Mountain National Park – including in Lower Tokai – people must take responsibility for their own safety.

“Even in those situations where you cannot use your cellphone, pre-primed with emergency numbers, you still have three tools. Your eyes to be aware of our surroundings and who is in the vicinity. Your ears to listen for movement and your voice – a very powerful tool – to shout at the threatening person and to scream your loudest for help.”
According to Nicky, who gave an excellent power point presentation on the background to the somewhat fractious relationship between SANParks and the public, the tragedy of Franziska Blöchliger, along with other stabbings, rapes and muggings in the Table Mountain National Park, has brought about the need to create safe urban parks for all in the buffer zones of TMNP, starting with Lower Tokai.

The pines could be cut by MTO Forestry “any time between now and next year”, she said. Turning the land over to fynbos was to risk bringing fire and crime to the edge of urban life. Additionally, it could mean that the Tokai Cecilia Management Framework (which allows for shaded recreation in Tokai) that was toughly negotiated by Nicky and her previous team in 2006/7, and which was committed to by SANParks, could run aground with new environmental legislation and MTO’s early departure.

For anyone wondering who the people behind Parkscape are – well, they’re neither a bunch of activists nor a group of nutters who would tie themselves to the pine trees on the day the chainsaw teams moved in. Nicky from Stonehurst, who ran the original Parkscape in 2006 – 2008, describes the group “as eight concerned residents worried about safety in Lower Tokai, and that the recreational opportunities currently provided in the Tokai Cecilia Management Plan will be lost.”

Others in the team are Prof Eugene Moll (Kirstenhof), Chris Whyte (Tokai), Glenda Phillips (Silvertree), Ann Hutchings (Tokai), Sandra Kruger (Tokai), Renee Baard (Bergvliet) and Duncan Greaves (Stonehurst).

The second incarnation of Parkscape only came together in May and was constituted as an association a month ago. But it is fast increasing its popularity and has close on 1800 members on its database, with some as far afield as Stellenbosch and Brackenfell, along with residents from Sea Point, Newlands, Hout Bay, Noordhoek and the greater Constantia Valley.
Other groups in the area have also shown their support – such as the Tokai Residents’ Association and Neighbourhood Crime Watch, Women of Westlake, Zwaanswyk Resident’s Association and various cycling, riding, pony and dog-walking people.

So what’s to be done about Lower Tokai?

It was the late arrival of Alderman Felicity Purchase who brought the weight of the Cape Town City Council with her, that hopefully will ensure that from now on SANParks will respond to public concerns over safety and nothing will be done without public participation to adhere to the original Management Framework for a people-friendly park with shaded recreation area, pockets of fynbos and stands of non-invasive pines which will be cut and re planted.

Dear Parkscape Supporters and Attendees

Firstly, thank you to all the people who braved the weather to attend our meeting.  It was gratifying to see how many people feel so strongly about Lower Tokai Forest.  This post is merely a report on last night’s meeting and not minutes of the meeting.  Minutes will follow as soon as possible.  Secondly, we would like to apologise for the problems experienced with the sound.  We were assured that a PA system was not necessary in the hall but with the noise of the rain on the roof, it was extremely difficult to hear some of what was being said.  This will be addressed for future meetings.

The meeting commenced with a talk by Andre van Schalkwyk, who is the head of Table Mountain Watch (a volunteer organisation).  He is an ordinary user of the mountain, whose love of the mountain and desire for safety on it, led him to form this organisation. He endeavoured to inform the audience of ways to maximise one’s safety when using TMNP areas and stressed that it was up to the community to drive the issue of safety.  We need to be more aware of our surroundings, to be “the eyes and ear” and to report issues of concern to Table Mountain Watch 0861 106 417 or @tablemountainwatch on Twitter.

Nicky Schmidt then did a comprehensive presentation on the history of TMNP and how it relates to Lower Tokai Forest. A copy of the presentation will be posted below for anyone who missed the meeting or would like to peruse the points again

Some of the attendees appeared to be disappointed that this was not a meeting to “save the trees”.  No one can, unfortunately, provide reassurance that the remaining trees will be preserved.  Mountains to Oceans (MTO) Forestry, as indicated in the presentation, are leaving the area both as a result of the forestry exit strategy in the Western Cape and because the bulk of their crop was lost in last year’s fires.  The only means we have to hold SANParks to the retention of the trees or new plantings is through the Tokai Cecilia Management Framework – and through the City.   What was proposed in the Management Framework and what appears to be happening indicates a deviation.  MTO will be felling any time between now and next year (seven years ahead of schedule), and the Management Framework doesn’t take that into account. New planting should have begun and that’s not happening. There should be a second tree stand near Soetvlei and that isn’t there. Friends of Tokai Park have indicated “no more pines” and the message that came out of the meeting last night was that the entire area should be given over to fynbos. From a biodiversity perspective this is commendable, but it does then mean that the Management Framework is dead – and without input from or consultation with the community – and that can’t happen.  The purpose of the meeting last night was to set on record that TMNP cannot do this.  They have to be held to account and they have to listen to the community and take the community’s wishes on board.  There has be a public participation process if the Management Framework is to be reviewed, as is indicated in the recently approved Management Plan for TMNP – it’s a legal requirement.  It is unfortunate that Alderman Purchase arrived late as she spoke most firmly to the matter, to the point of indicating that as things currently stand it appears that the City will be entering into legal dispute with SANParks over the management of the Park per se.  We also have the support from the Province as you may have gathered from the approach Mark Wiley took.

An extensive Q & A session followed.  There was a strong SANParks presence at the meeting as well as representatives of the City of Cape Town.  Minutes of the meeting will have more detail of questions asked and the various responses to them.  The botanists and conservationists were all given the opportunity to speak, but it was apparent that they must also be challenged.  Both the Constitution and the Buffer Zone Policy and the Protected Areas Act all indicate that public participation is not a nicety but a legal necessity.  The will of the public cannot be ignored.  We also now have it on record that SANParks WILL abide by the terms of the Tokai Cecilia Management Framework.

So the question now is – what next ??????

Take Action Now!

It is IMPERATIVE that affected and concerned Lower Tokai users write to Alderman Purchase: FelicityAnne.Purchase@capetown.gov.za and their local councillor.  It is also important to write to the press – a groundswell of community support is required to drive this and gathering that support is part of Parkscape’s mandate.  It is also imperative that immediately post elections Alderman Purchase and the Parkscape team meet with SANParks – irrespective of whether they want to meet with us or not.  That meeting will be to insist on community consultation and a public participation process as soon as the possible and before the trees are felled.  As we are engaging with MTO, we believe we can have some influence on the felling dates.

So please Parkscape supporters – get writing !!  We have to do this together.

The first champion for safety in TMNP was Ray Chaplin who maintained a database of incidents in the Park. Believing, initially, that he could work with Park Management, he soon found this not to be the case when he was thrown out of SANParks’ offices and attacked in what he calls a public smear campaign. Following in Chaplin’s stead, came Andre van Schalkwyk who formed the Table Mountain Safety Action Group in 2007, and who to this day continues to attempt to hold SANParks to account through his group Table Mountain Watch. Although he too was thrown out of SANParks offices, he used the press to report news of incidents and attacks within the greater Park thus forcing crime into both SANParks’ and the public’s awareness. He also, along with the Mountain Club of South Africa, maintains a database of muggings and attacks.

In February 2006, the Constantiaberg Bulletin published a letter from a local resident, Tim Hagen, in which he stated, referring to the fynbos in Lower Tokai, “SANParks have their hands full just keeping the paths on TM clear. Low growth also provides good cover for muggers (SANParks are struggling with this issue too).”

In January 2008 an article was sent to the press in which the writers stated that the “lack of visibility in a fynbos environment is a key concern; the shrubby foliage is likely to exacerbate still further incidents of crime in the Park.”

In a 2010 report it was the contention of Table Mountain Safety Action Group that 50% of attacks in the two prime “hot spots” could have been prevented, and that 75% of attacks may have been prevented by visible patrolling by TMNP/SAPS at the top four hot spots. The stats furthermore show that crime rises in the winter months when visible policing diminishes. They also show that the majority of victims of crime are locals rather than tourists.

The latest Table Mountain Watch stats show that pre-2000 crime in the Park was remarkably low; it peaked in 2004, increased in 2007 and 2008 and rose dramatically in 2011.

In February 2011 Caryn Dolley of the Cape Times wrote a substantial piece addressing issues of crime and referencing attempts by members of the public to assist TMNP authorities in dealing with that crime. The article notes that “from January 2004 to December 2006…about 280 incidents occurred…” The piece also quotes van Schalkwyk as saying that despite repeated attempts to work with TMNP their group was withdrawing from the Table Mountain Safety Action Group (TMSAG) because “TMNP made many promises but didn’t deliver them in the end.”

In February 2013 an article on News24 regarding attacks in TMNP, quotes van Schalkwyk as saying: “As much as we watch them [the criminals], they watch us. As soon as they see that observation posts are not being manned, they move back in.”

TMSAG, formed in the late 2000s, “fell away” in 2013, but after crime started to rise again in 2015, Table Mountain Watch insisted that the Table Mountain Safety Forum be reconstituted. It meets monthly and provides joint (City Metro Police, Law Enforcement, SAPS, TMNP Safety Rangers and even Metro Traffic) forces to address sensitive areas (or hot spots). It is through this forum, that public interest groups attempt to hold SANParks to some account. It should be noted, however, that according to the SANParks’ website there are only, “52 dedicated, trained staff who patrol the Park equipped with dogs, vehicles and radios…” – i.e. 52 people to patrol the entire 221 sq km Park. Furthermore, SANParks takes the view that “…it’s a vast open area park…” despite the hotspots remaining much the same over the years. SANParks are also aware of groups of vagrants (some seen to be responsible for some of the crime) living in the Park, yet fail to do enough to effect their removal – this includes vagrants in Lower Tokai. To this end it becomes, somewhat unreasonably – given SANParks’ obligations to the City and public – the responsibility of local communities, interest groups, neighbourhood crime watches, and residents associations to reach an agreement with SANParks to look after their own safety. It should be noted that SANParks do not facilitate or assist this involvement easily and are regularly described as regarding the public as a nuisance, while SANParks officials are often seen as being arrogant, distant, following a Pretoria head office approach, and failing to deliver on undertakings.

In recent years, mountain bikers cycling in Upper Tokai have been repeatedly attacked, despite Pedal Power having paid towards the development of cycle tracks within the greater TMNP. With the closure of Upper Tokai due to the March 2016 fires and subsequent tree felling, bikers have been cycling in other areas of the Park, including Lower Tokai. In November 2015 Robert Vogel of Pedal Power, posted on the group’s website: “Cyclists and the other users of the mountain simply don’t feel safe anymore and it is high time we understand what SANParks are doing to keep us safe…. On an operational level, SANParks are stretched as they have a total of 58 rangers that patrol the Park. Some of those might be on leave or off sick, which can bring the available daily complement of rangers down to 21-25.”

A further and final critical concern which arises regarding safety in high recreation areas like Lower Tokai is the proximity of fynbos to the urban edge. While there is valid argument around an alien treed environment vs a fynbos/indigenous environment, a critical point must be borne in mind: the tall stands of trees once prevalent in Upper and Lower Tokai and Cecilia offer greater visibility. (It is less the case in Newlands which includes dense pockets of Afromontane Forest.) Incidents of crime in these areas have only become prevalent with the removal of tall trees and the resuscitation of dense, shrubby fynbos. The relevance of this is borne out in a statement made by Park Manager, Paddy Gordon, in December 2007: “We protect the bossies, but now have to be aware that muggers hide behind them.” The pines (or any other tall – 3m clearance – trees alien or indigenous) are seen as safe, however, the adjacent fynbos is not. It is exactly this combination of trees and the failure to patrol/police dense fynbos surrounding it by SANParks that provided the opportunity for the murder of Franziska Blöchliger.

ClimbZA maintains a listing of incidents within TMNP that have been reported on by the media.

Examples of vagrancy and litter found in Lower Tokai on a short walkabout.