By Nick Wilson

The Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA), the development arm of the City of Johannesburg, is revamping the social infrastructure in the Rockey Street and Raleigh Road areas of Yeoville, Johannesburg.

This includes the repaving of pavements, the installation of new street lights and the rejuvenation of Yeoville Park in Rockey Street.

JDA CEO Lael Bethlehem says Yeoville Park has already been revamped.

" We have brought in new children's play equipment, refurbished the tennis courts and the clubhouse. We have improved the entire park area," says Bethlehem.

The JDA has also replaced all the street lights along Rockey Street and Raleigh Road.

Bethlehem says that in the coming year the JDA is going to replace all the pavements along Rockey Street and Raleigh Road.

The agency will also be moving the Yeoville public library from the small house it occupies in Rockey Street to a much larger facility opposite the Yeoville Recreation Facility, next to the park.

"We are trying to create a high-quality civic precinct there. We will be moving the library over in the coming year," she says.

"We've also created a city improvement district in Rockey and Raleigh streets in conjunction with the property owners."

Bethlehem says she thinks the city improvement district and police have made a "big difference to the crime situation".

The city improvement district, which has been facilitated by Kagiso Urban Management, has brought extra security and cleaners into the area.

Supt Lucky Matlaila, head of crime prevention and acting station commissioner at Yeoville police station, said crime levels in the Yeoville area as a whole were dropping.

Matlaila says that in Rockey Street, the additional security provided through the city improvement district is having an effect on crime because the extra security personnel are working closely with police.

"We (police) are also working with the community in general."

Matlaila says police have introduced a foreign national crime sector forum, which meets once a month and provides information to police. This forum consists of Zimbabweans, Nigerians, Congolese and other foreigners living in the Yeoville area.

"We also have a liquor forum, which includes all the liquor outlet owners. It meets once a month. We discuss crime problems that are affecting them," says Matlaila.