Cape Town: The Recreation and Parks Department of the City of Cape Town has taken delivery of three new cherry pickers by boosting its ability to maintain trees on parks, sidewalks and other public spaces across the metro.
Reportedly, these vehicles are a part of the wider fleet renewal programme of the Department that aims at modernising equipment and ensuring improved service delivery within the Community Services and Health Directorate.
Addition of cherry pickers forms part of a broader fleet upgrade. The Recreation and Parks Department is currently operating over 550 vehicles across the city, by including LDVs, tractors, mowing trucks and grab trucks.
During the current and coming next two financial years, the further replacements and additions are expected with total collection of nearly R70 million. This includes the replacement of some of the older tipper trucks with specialised trucks, to improve efficiency and be more cost effective in the long term.
Altogether, these investments will strengthen the ability of the department to address the maintenance needs year-round for improving the service delivery and ensuring public safety in parks and open spaces.
Considering this, Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Services and Health – Councillor Francine Higham said that the upgrades to the fleet are a direct investment in service delivery.
These cherry pickers will allow the teams to safely and efficiently maintain trees across the City of Cape Town, which are difficult to reach while using conventional methods. By modernising the equipment, they are improving turnaround times and ensured that residents can enjoy safe, well-kept public spaces.
Furthermore, the new vehicles will also help in reducing service requests by enabling quicker and more effective responses to maintenance issues.
The residents were reminded to log requests through the official service request channels. With its expanding and upgraded fleet, the Recreation and Parks Department continues to make strides in keeping public spaces of Cape Town green, safe and welcoming for all residents.