I'm against closing or "filling it in". I used to live in that part of 
Obs, and regularly used the subway, as I'm sure many people in the area 
do. It certainly serves more of a purpose than as a repository for human 
waste, and a security risk - people need to get across the railway line. 
I'm sure criminals also use Lower Main Road and the N2, but there's no 
talk of closing them down.

I can imagine too that a lot more holes will be appearing in the fence 
if a major crossing point is closed. It is also, (in theory!), the only 
wheelchair-friendly crossing point.

There are two problems - it is dark and dirty, and it is unsafe/used by 
criminals.

Before there are any kneejerk reactions, I'd like to find out some more 
information. It's been mentioned that Intersite and Metrorail (Intersite 
are apparently "a specialist in the management and development of 
State-owned property portfolios") no longer maintain the subway. Why? 
What is the legal status and responsibility? If cleanliness is their 
responsibility, they need to be held accountable, perhaps with some help 
from the OBS-CID cleaning team.

Security is presumably the responsibility of the police/community. For 
this reason I'd be in favour of locking the subway at night, where it's 
most likely less used for legitimate purposes. This will also help keep 
it cleaner, with no-one spending the night in there.

-- 
Ian Gilfillan
www.greenman.co.za

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