SkyscraperCity Forum banner

Cape Town - Road Developments

243K views 1K replies 99 participants last post by  Diabolix 
#1 ·
Projects:

- Hospital Bend
- Koeberg Interchange
- Granger Bay Boulevard
- R300
- General road upgrades
- Airport Interchange

Including plans,images of progress and construction strategies.
 
#761 ·
^^ It's going to be a difficult problem to solve from an engineering level. Widening Ou Kaapse Weg won't be too bad on the Noordhoek side, but the terrain on the Westlake side is extremely steep. Probably the only solution would be to construct additional lanes on a concrete overhang (read: duplicate what's on the upper section of Sir Lowry's Pass).

Extending the M3 not only faces the steep terrain problem (though not as severe), but there'll be land expropriation issues to deal with as well (Westlake golf course...), as well as the matter of property accesses from Boyes Drive (assuming that alignment is used). Of course, a tunnel can just be put through the entire mountain (not just Trappeskop!), but that will be a prohibitively expensive option. Though, it would be a quicker and flatter route than Ou Kaapse Weg.

And that's not even going into the EIA process. If the Chapman's Peak saga is anything to go by, the South Peninsula folks are facing an uphill battle. Sinking a tunnel would be the most environmentally friendly option, but I seriously doubt that it will be affordable without a toll/e-tag system on it, which of course opens its own can of worms. I believe that improving/widening Ou Kaapse Weg will be the option that eventually wins out.

As an aside: I've often wondered about that incomplete Corsair Road intersection...
 
#763 ·
Well, starting and ending points are correct. However, that was the extensive tunneling option which was never on the table. It would be unbelievably expensive, probably to the order of R10billion, if not more. It may require a tunnel of 4.5km in length, 0.6km longer than the Huguenot Tunnel.

It would start at Westlake, but then turn SE immediate to follow Boyes Drive's alignment, then at Kalk Bay, turn W to tunnel through Trappeskop to Clovelly through a 650m tunnel and link up to the point where your line terminates between Fish Hoek and Sun Valley.
 
#765 ·
The least intrusive and cheapest would be to convert the most southern M3 interchange (with Steenberg Road) to a proper trumpet interchange and to then widen Old Cape Road to 4 lanes within it's existing road reserve.

I am not sure but will extending Boyes drive on it's southern end stray into TMNP?
 
#767 ·
Totally random question (mainly directed at annman, because he catches wind of this sort of thing way before the rest of us!) -- are there any plans (even long term) to improve the N1/R27 interchange, a la Koeberg Interchange? That interchange design seems to cause a lot of bottlenecks on the R27...

(Doesn't help that the ramp to Lower Woodstock is right on top of it, which creates an outdated design on top of an outdated design!)
 
#768 ·
^^ Not as far as I know, but the Paarden Island Interchange has troubled me for a long time. Basically, it seems some freektard designed Table Bay Boulevard from Christiaan Barnard to Koerberg Interchange.

However, there are overall plans to upgrade the R27 from Cape Town to Saldanha, so perhaps we'll be lucky and a realignment of the interchange is in the works...

I'll pose those question though, if I can hopefully secure a meeting with Dept. of Transport and Public Works next week Wednesday.
 
#769 ·
I was just wondering what happened at the Dept of Transport and Public Works regarding the upgrades to the R27 - is that why there are construction on the N1?

Then, Im not sure if it has been discussed, but is it true that the R300 will join up at the Melkbos interchange and if someone has photo's of the area?

Lastly, why are the newly built BRT stations in Melkbos and Montague Gardens just standing and not being used? Are we waiting for something to set or be approved?

Thanks :)
 
#771 · (Edited)
... is that why there are construction on the N1?
Nope, seems like routine road resurfacing to me (if you're referring to the stretch between the Foreshore and the N1/R27 interchange, that is).

^^ The upgrades to the R27 and N7 were only announced late last year. R27 upgrades still have to commence and are supposed to be implemented in phases between now and 2018. This includes massive upgrades to Wingfield Interchange (N7/N1), connector roads to the R27 and two interchanges, one at Melkbos and one at Saldanha/Langebaan area. The R45 may also undergo some upgrading linking Vredenburg and the N7 at Malmesbury.
Out of interest, any PDFs or the like with what's being planned? :)

The N7 is already undergoing significant upgrades from Potsdam to M19 Melkbos and I've heard, full duplication all the way to Malmesbury.
Drove through there around a week ago. Apart from the N7/M19 interchange construction (which we already knew about), construction of a second carriageway from there to just past the N7/R304 intersection (also being upgraded to an interchange) is well advanced. I've mapped the under-construction carriageway on Openstreetmap for those interested. Extension of the second carriageway to the Leliefontein area (Phase 2) is in the scoping/EIA phase -- I believe I've posted the PDF for this already; will dig it out again if I haven't. [EDIT: It's on the previous page.] Phase 3 would likely be the Leliefontein-Malmesbury segment.

The eventual plan is to extend the R300 from Stellenberg Interchange (N1) to the N7 just south of Melkbosstrand. The freeway reserve is very obvious just east of Durbanville. However, this has been on ice for years and little has been said or done to commence design/construction of this greenfields freeway project. I would STRONGLY suggest to province that this project be resurrected to feed the west coast growth corridor and Saldanha IDZ, linking potential growth nodes of Bellville and CTIA, plus logistics dispersal on the N1 and N2 routes, with this new economic growth corridor. Even if it is tolled. I do not mind if "greenfields" projects are tolled. I object to existing routes being slapped with tolls with zero alternatives.
I suggested this earlier as well -- building the R300 segment between the N1 and N7 will divert long distance freight from/to the Saldanha IDZ away from the city center and also take some pressure of Wingfield Interchange -- I'd use it to get to the airport, for example (I'm up in Parklands). No objections to tolling that stretch of road, as it would be a greenfield project and Wingfield Interchange would be a viable non-tolled alternative.

I can only postulate that the MyCiti stations are standing idle for the same reason stations are idle in parts of the city bowl. Golden Arrow's (probably bogus) objections are holding up their inception.
Yeah, the city hasn't yet gotten approval to commence services on those routes, otherwise you could be damn sure they'd already been running (look at the 102 feeder route for example: they got approval in the morning and started operations later that same day). Agreed that GABS is probably a major factor in the delay there.
 
#770 · (Edited)
^^ The upgrades to the R27 and N7 were only announced late last year. R27 upgrades still have to commence and are supposed to be implemented in phases between now and 2018. This includes massive upgrades to Wingfield Interchange (N7/N1), connector roads to the R27 and two interchanges, one at Melkbos and one at Saldanha/Langebaan area. The R45 may also undergo some upgrading linking Vredenburg and the N7 at Malmesbury.

The N7 is already undergoing significant upgrades from Potsdam to M19 Melkbos and I've heard, full duplication all the way to Malmesbury.

The eventual plan is to extend the R300 from Stellenberg Interchange (N1) to the N7 just south of Melkbosstrand. The freeway reserve is very obvious just east of Durbanville. However, this has been on ice for years and little has been said or done to commence design/construction of this greenfields freeway project. I would STRONGLY suggest to province that this project be resurrected to feed the west coast growth corridor and Saldanha IDZ, linking potential growth nodes of Bellville and CTIA, plus logistics dispersal on the N1 and N2 routes, with this new economic growth corridor. Even if it is tolled. I do not mind if "greenfields" projects are tolled. I object to existing routes being slapped with tolls with zero alternatives.

I can only postulate that the MyCiti stations are standing idle for the same reason stations are idle in parts of the city bowl. Golden Arrow's (probably bogus) objections are holding up their inception.
 
#782 · (Edited)
^^ Where the funding for the Hospital Bend Interchange came from, where Koeberg Interchange came from, where the M5 upgrade from 2-2 to 3-3 came from. Where completely reconstructing the R46 and R43 came from. Where tarring Pakhuis Pass came from; Where tarring the R320 came from. Where the proposed massive upgrades and interchanges on the R44 from Stellenbosch & Somerset West is coming from. Where the new R43 from Gansbaai to Bredasdorp is coming from...

All eerily for free... all courtesy an efficient administration, Western Cape Dept. of Transport and Public Works and some from the CoCT. Somehow, this province can fund the road network through fuel levies and their national treasury allotment from taxes, the national SANRAL cannot. So eerie! :nuts:

Plus, upgrading the N1 from Paarl to Rawsonville and opening the tunnel's northern bore isn't debatable, as the road has been tolled since 1989; it's been user-pays for 24years. I have no problem with "greenfields tolling," like one may need for a Helderberg Bypass; I am vehemently against entrapping communities and tolling existing road infrastructure.

Toll locations N1:
1. Joostenbergvlakte Plaza (likely between Brighton & Luculus Rd Interchanges)
*ramp plazas on CT-bound ramps between plaza and R300
2. Huguenot Plaza (to remain - but tolls to be hiked significantly - last I saw a proposal for over R40.00)
*Alternative R101 to be ramp-tolled as well - now NO alternatives from Breede River Valley
3. Hexpoort Plaza (north of DeWet, south of Sandhills - effectively isolating TouwsRiver and DeDoorns COMPLETELY)
Toll locations N2:
1. Swartklip Plaza (likely just beyond R300)
2. Sir Lowry's Plaza (likely just beyond Sir Lowry's Pass Village - effectively cutting Grabouw/Elgin off COMPLETELY)
3. Houhoek Plaza (just before Houhoek Pass - cutting off Grabouw/Elgin eastwards)

The middle-class has HAD it. You have the Auditor General find R24.8billion missing/misappropriated one week and the next week, SANRAL pleads poverty. R24.8billion in one year... more than the capital outlay for the ENTIRE Gauteng Freeway Improvement Scheme thus far. I say, "if they can't maintain the N1/N2/N7, take it from SANRAL and give it to the PGWC-DTPW and the associated funding allocation for transferred road value... KLAAR.
 
#783 · (Edited)
My opinion (open letter) to SANRAL - an opinion gaining favour with Min. Robin Carlisle & Cllr. Brett Herron

The Western Cape vs. SANRAL

The proposed tolling of the N1 and N2 in the Winelands has raised the ire of most residents and local government entities in the province. The City of Cape Town and SANRAL seem set for another court showdown. Cllr. Brett Herron has demanded clarity from the national roads agency on the economic impacts, cost-implications and tolling locations from this seemingly, clandestine agency. This demand is not only fair; all citizens in this province should demand this information, as this project could have significant impacts on the economy and thus, the prosperity of affected areas in the Western Cape.

SANRAL has declared the N1 as a toll-road from Old Oak Interchange to Sandhills in the Hex River Valley and the N2 from the R300 Interchange to Bot River. Three tolls along each route are proposed. On the N1, these proposed toll plazas are at Joostenbergvlakte, the existing Huguenot Toll Plaza (where fees are proposed to be significantly raised) and Glen Heatlie between Worcester and De Doorns. On the N2, one plaza is proposed near Khayelitsha, one at Sir Lowry’s Pass and the other, at Bot River. Don’t think you’ll be able to get around the tolls, where viable alternative routes exists, like the R101 Du Toitskloof Pass, SANRAL will construct ramp-toll plazas on these exits.

They are planning some significant upgrades to the roads, so why is the Western Cape populace so angry? The anger in Gauteng over the controversial eTolls is still boiling over, yet SANRAL sees fit to set another pot to high-heat in our province. The Auditor General reports on countless billions being misspent per annum, yet SANRAL continues to plead poverty. Furthermore, the stark contrast in this province, where most roads are (Provincial Government - Western Cape) PGWC-maintained, from the fiscus. Our infrastructure is not in a dismal state, like our provincial cousins. The N1 and N2 westwards form the aforementioned points, where SANRAL jurisdiction ends, is in a better condition. In recent years these PGWC sections have seen resurfacing, highway lighting and the significant upgrading of numerous interchanges taking place. Significant upgrades to Wingfield Interchange and west coast arterial routes are to begin soon. Thus the resident logically asks, “Why can the PGWC maintain and upgrade our roads with our tax-money and you, SANRAL, cannot?”

Admittedly, there are bottlenecks in our infrastructure in these proposed tolled-areas: one being the N1 at the Huguenot Tunnel and two, the N2 through Somerset West and Strand. I am not against greenfields tolling. Thus, the Helderberg Bypass could be constructed without entrapping the Elgin Valley. The opening of the second Huguenot Tunnel (already bored – requires lining and equipping) is not up for debate. This sector is already user-pays and has been so since 1989; road improvements go without saying.

The economic impacts could be dire. SANRAL likes to commission studies that investigate the economic impact of the “do nothing” or “if they toll” scenarios. This creates a gross bias in the analysis. No roads agency or governmental entity is entitled to “do nothing” to the infrastructure as population, road-usage and therefore, revenue increases. Even under their potentially biased analysis, undertaken by UCT Graduate Business School, it is admitted that communities north-east of Paarl would see little cost-benefit in the short to medium-term, as traffic volumes are too light. Even under their analysis, agriculture could experience hardship, the lifeblood of these communities. Even under their analysis, the Hex River and Elgin Valleys would become entrapped to tolls, cut off from their service centre towns, major markets and neighbouring engines of economic growth. Even with this information, SANRAL has made no attempt to move toll plazas to locations that would not hold these communities hostage. They have admittedly, offered Hex River Valley residents the option of toll discounts.

Furthermore, rural tolling is an even crueler pursuit, as public-transit or non-motorised transit options simply don’t exist and probably never will.

Communities recently synonymous with civil unrest, Grabouw and De Doorns, will be the worst affected. Whatever the reason for the recent unrest, the obvious catalysts remain lack of employment and poor local economic conditions. With spiraling fuel and transport costs, additional tolling has only one outcome for these communities on an economic and social knife-edge. Communities like Rawsonville, Worcester and Caledon, already struggling to attract tourists and investment, seen as the over-the-mountain-poorer-cousins, will be isolated even further from the economic engine that is Cape Town.

Provincial roads will become overburdened. Communities that can escape toll plazas, will. The Western Cape’s provincial roads are in good condition and constantly undergoing improvements. Paarl and Franschhoek will use the R101; Stellenbosch the M12 and M23 to the R300; Wellington, the R44 and R312; Somerset West the R102; Ceres, Wolseley and even Touws River, the R46; Kleinmond and Hermanus, probably the R44. Worst of all, some of the poorest communities will be left with no viable alternative. Province will be burdened further, with residents attempting to escape the national policy of tolling by utilising their free-to-use infrastructure, thereby stretching their resources.

I call on national government and SANRAL to abandon this skewed policy and this lunacy. It is clear from SANRAL’s public participation process, where they do the bare legal minimum to consult with communities, that they’re fully aware of the intense public opposition to their user-pays policy. Public participation is kept as quiet and as narrow as possible. We already pay. It’s called fuel-levies. Ring-fence the levy, make them provincially imposed according to local need. It’s the cheapest and most equitable form of roads funding there is, with the least risk of graft or corruption.

If all else fails and your impoverished agency cannot maintain the roads, do the admirable thing and give it to the Provincial Government of the Western Cape. Cede control of all your roads west of Bloukrans River and Three Sisters. Allow the national treasury to grant province that equitable share of your allocated budget for these road-sectors. Clearly, our local administration can handle the infrastructure under their jurisdiction using the fiscus. You clearly, cannot.
 
#785 · (Edited)
Press Release from SANRAL regarding the Western Cape issues; seems that there are half-truths flying from both sides:

http://www.nra.co.za/live/content.php?Item_ID=4644

City should not stop roads agency fulfilling mandate

MEDIA RELEASE
issued by
THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL ROADS AGENCY SOC LTD
27 March 2013


CITY SHOULD NOT STOP ROADS AGENCY FULFILLING MANDATE

Council's toll project statements are mischievous, writes Vusi Mona





In 1918, US Senator Hiram Warren Johnson is purported to have said: “The first casualty when war comes is truth.”

The same can be said about the perceived war between SANRAL and the City of Cape Town about the N1/N2 Winelands Toll Highway Project. Late last week, the City informed the media that it intended approaching the courts to interdict the start of the project. It also said SANRAL intended to commence with the project on 20 April 2013.

Here are the facts. SANRAL, through its lawyers, did send a letter to the City on 6 March 2013 notifying it of its intention to take steps to advance or implement the N1/N2 Toll Highway Project.

SANRAL indicated that it intends, without further delay, negotiating with the preferred bidder and if necessary, the reserve bidder, for purposes of concluding a concession contract, securing funding for works under the project and carrying out the works necessary to address the safety concerns along the N1/N2.

SANRAL has never said it intends to start with the project or to conclude the concession contract on the 20th April 2013. The negotiation of such contracts is a time consuming and lengthy process and so is the process of securing funding necessary for the works. Only after the appointment of a concessionaire, and once funding has been secured, can the necessary works under the project be carried out.

It therefore follows that SANRAL is not in a position to conclude a concession contract nor to start with the works on 20 April 2013. Statements in this regard are mischievous and intended to influence public opinion in a particular direction.

It is also untrue that SANRAL is not willing to engage the City or Province on the project. As recently as last week, there were exchanges between SANRAL and the City about a possible meeting. SANRAL has consistently interacted with the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Transport, including making technical presentations about the project.

But outside the legal skirmishes the City is threatening, the question has to be asked as to why this project is necessary and why SANRAL notified the City about its intention to advance implementation of the project. The advancement of implementation is necessary to prevent the irreversible deterioration of portions of the roads concerned and to safeguard and protect the public safety of road users.

The development and maintenance of the South African national roads network is a component of SANRAL’s statutory mandate. Section 25(1) of the South African National Roads Agency Limited and National Roads Act, number 7 of 1998 (the SANRAL Act”), requires SANRAL to perform “… all strategic planning with regard to the South African national roads system, as well as the planning, design, construction, operation, management, control, maintenance and rehabilitation of national roads for the Republic, and is responsible for the financing of all those functions in accordance with its business and financial plan, so as to ensure that government’s goals and policy objectives concerning national roads are achieved…”.

Cooperative governance notwithstanding, the City should not be an impediment towards SANRAL fulfilling its mandate.

Specific portions of the N1/N2 were constructed between 20 and 30 years ago and are moving towards the end of their design life. Since November 2011 there has been a significant deterioration of certain portions of the Project’s road infrastructure. The predominant distress visible in the road surface is “crocodile cracking”. In many instances the cracking is associated with deformation and pumping (fine material being washed out from the layer below).

Once a road has reached the stage where widespread crocodile cracking has occurred, deterioration will accelerate as the surface can no longer prevent the ingress of water reducing the strength of unbound material underlying the surface. It is therefore common for roads in this condition to form potholes during rainy periods.

Although maintenance contractors appointed by SANRAL have routinely over the last number of years attended to the distress by means of patching in order to minimise the occurrence of potholes, this is now insufficient to properly maintain the road.

To ensure effective maintenance and proper rehabilitation of the road, the works contemplated by the project have to be carried out. Further delays will cause substantial additional deterioration to the road infrastructure and significantly increase the costs which will ultimately have to be incurred to implement the project.

A serious concern related to what is stated above regarding the deterioration of the road is that its current state compromises the safety of road users. Some specific safety concerns identified during regular surveys conducted in contemplation of the project related to, among others, unacceptable high frequency of road accidents, primarily at the unsignalled intersections along the route, due to the ever-increasing N2 traffic flows between Sir Lowry’s Pass and Houwhoek Pass.

A further major concern is the current state of the Huguenot Tunnel South Bore. A second bore needs to be constructed as the existing bore has exceeded its service level and its associated equipment has reached the end of its design life. This poses a safety hazard to the motorists using the tunnel. In addition to the construction of a second bore, fire detection, automatic incident detection, ventilation and communication systems have to be installed in order to ensure a fast and effective response to fires and other incidents.

The recommencement of the project is necessary to ensure that these safety concerns are addressed as soon as possible. Also, funding is to be secured by the concessionaire and for this to happen, SANRAL must negotiate with the preferred bidder, or reserve bidder, in order to determine and finalise the terms of appointment.

The advancement or implementation of the project is necessary to ensure the safety of motorists, to prevent the further deterioration of the road and to ensure funding for the project is secured. This is all SANRAL communicated to the City.

*Vusi Mona is head of communications at SANRAL
 
#786 · (Edited)
^^ Nice rebuttal and seems "nice" until you know the facts.

Vusi from SANRAL goes on and on about the deterioration of the road surface and the need for urgent maintenance. Dear, SANRAL: Bullsh*t argument! Because a road is untolled, there is nowhere in your mandate that allows you to neglect it.

A deteriorating surface, because it's reaching the end of its design life has to go into your planning! You have the ages of every respective road sector in South Africa. Each road sector needs to be replaced every 30-years at maximum per industry standard. This does not mean, every time a road reaches 30-years of age, you can slap a toll on it to fix it. This is identical to ESKOM planning no capacity expansion and then saddling the SA public with the cost-burdens of poor planning. You're just as bad as they are. Your job is to maintain all the roads under your jurisdiction, tolled or not. Your mandate does not make a differentiation.

The tunnel's new north bore and maintenance of the south bore... let me inform you if you haven't noticed... this sector from Sonstraal Road - Paarl to Florence (R101 Rawsonville), has been a designated toll road since 1989. It has been user pays and users have to pay R29.00 one-way. Upgrading the road is NOT up for debate, it goes without saying. You can't use this as an argument to slap tolls on the remainder of the N1.

No, you are NOT transparent. I had to track you down, in my capacity as then, managing director of the Worcester Chamber of Commerce. The residents were nervous in 2010 already. Then, you had no clarity on proposed toll-costs. The socio-economic studies were inconclusive and probably biased. Upon talking to the chairperson to gauge the history of public-participation, he said, "We had some low-level guy come speak to us a couple years ago who had few answers. He spoke to us as if the toll-road was a done deal and this was simply an informative session."

Chambers of Commerce of the largest towns on the tolled routes, probably the biggest NGO stakeholder and they have to track you down? Yet, you claim transparency. I think not. Bare legal minimum required, yes. Widespread and intense public-participation, hell no. Then, when we're engaged, we're simply "informed tolling is happening." Sorry SANRAL, that is NOT how public participation works.

It works like this: We want to do A. We go into public participation to attempt to do A. The public may be vehemently against A, thus it is possible we'll need option B or C. This is your problem: You have option A, or A, or maybe A, or choice A. You don't like A, tough. That is not public participation and a consultative process... and you still claim naivity and ask why are people so anti-SANRAL? DUH!

Then you continue to bleat about the need to upgrade intersections, Helderberg Bypass and widen sections. This bleating to a bleeding middle-class, when the AG announces R24.8bn has gone missing from government coffers, rings hollow. Bleating the inability to do anything without user-pays, when province just announced multi-million upgrades and interchanges for the R44, R1.225bn for West Coast arterial routes, N7 and Wingfield Interchange. When province has completely reconstructed the R46 and R43 and tarred numerous previously untarred routes, like the R320. And you still wonder why the Western Cape refuses to listen to your bleating.

Helderberg Bypass, point taken, the N2 is a mess in Somerset West. But, 2 issues, firstly, your leaving it like that for decades - is this lack of forward planning our fault. So you want to greenfields toll, fine... let's pay for the short-cut around Somerset West... oh no! No choice SANRAL says. If you come from Grabouw, Elgin or Bot River, you WILL pay, regardless... those valleys will be trapped as you close off alternative routes with ramp plazas. Not only here though, the Huguenot Tunnel, paid for over 24 years by users, you're going to trap them too, by slapping a ramp-plaza on R101 DuToitskloof Pass!

Shows, you have no regard for the hardship of communities, feel nothing about holding towns captive and really have no regard for freedom of movement or freedom of choice.

Then, you still wonder why we're upset? Tell someone who cares, like Ben Martins.
 
#787 ·
A deteriorating surface, because it's reaching the end of its design life has to go into your planning! You have the ages of every respective road sector in South Africa. Each road sector needs to be replaced every 30-years at maximum per industry standard. This does not mean, every time a road reaches 30-years of age, you can slap a toll on it to fix it.
My thoughts exactly! His argument makes absolutely no sense. Why should the general public have to fund the repair of roads that shouldn't have been allowed to deteriorate in the first place? What, exactly, have they been doing all of these years if they haven't been doing their jobs? Honestly...what an insult to the intelligence of the general public.
 
#788 ·
^^ It's as ludicrous as saying: "The public hospital is getting old, so we need to privatise it." This especially disingenuous, when the government bails out SAA over and over again, refuses to privatise it, but thinks it's fine to privatise road infrastructure.
 
#789 ·
City and UCT join forces to find a solution for the unfinished Foreshore freeway

The City of Cape Town and the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment have joined forces to develop a creative conceptual future for the unfinished Foreshore freeway, its un-built remnants and the surrounding area.

Through the partnership, the City will utilise the skills and knowledge of students from UCT’s engineering and built environment disciplines to influence the future design of urban space in the city.
Plans to develop the Foreshore precinct and the unfinished freeways had been in discussion for quite some time and when the opportunity came to form a unique collaboration with UCT, the City was eager to get involved.

“We are very excited about this collaboration and have great anticipation of what kinds of proposals we will receive. We have placed no limitations and have expressed very few expectations, and we look forward to receiving implementable and feasible solutions,” says the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Roads and Stormwater, Councillor Brett Herron.

Students at UCT will be tasked to produce proposals for the future of the Foreshore part of the city. They will review existing proposed conceptual design reports, consider new alternatives and take into account examples from other cities in the world, as well as the needs and priorities of the residents of Cape Town. Their proposals will also need to consider the long-term future of the metropolitan area, as well as the resource and environmental requirements of the future.

“I am very grateful to the University of Cape Town and Professor Francis Petersen [Dean of UCT’s Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment] and his team for the enthusiastic response to our request for assistance with this project. I am also very grateful to the students of UCT for having committed to employing their training, skills and open minds to conceptualise how our city could be different and better.

“The Foreshore is no doubt the most significant precinct in our city centre which, if treated correctly, has the potential to unlock enormous opportunity for the entire city and all of us who live here,” says Councillor Herron.

For more on the Future Foreshore Freeway Precinct project click here and watch the YouTube links below, in which Professor Petersen and Councillor Brett Herron discuss the innovative approach to finding a solution for the partially built Future Foreshore freeway, as well as the partnership between the university and the City of Cape Town.

For up-to-date information on the project, and to interact with the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Roads and Stormwater, Councillor Brett Herron, you can follow us on Twitter using the handles @CityofCT, @brettherron with the hash tag #ForeshoreFreeway. You can also visit UCT’s Facebook page.

YouTube links:

Published by the City of Cape Town.

2013/04/09

Source
 
#793 ·
N1/N2 Winelands Toll

Seems the gloves are off and the fight to stop tolls is in full swing. Despite ANC National Government hatching the tolling (user-pays policy), after the vehement opposition from the DA and local councils, the WC ANC has jumped on board against tolling. Seems it's basically SANRAL and the Nat'l Dept. of Transport in one corner, and everyone else in the other.
 
#794 ·
Seems the gloves are off and the fight to stop tolls is in full swing. Despite ANC National Government hatching the tolling (user-pays policy), after the vehement opposition from the DA and local councils, the WC ANC has jumped on board against tolling. Seems it's basically SANRAL and the Nat'l Dept. of Transport in one corner, and everyone else in the other.
Annman, now I know you are the person to ask this question. Correct me if I am wrong, but did they say that they wanne install the e-toll system on the N1 and N2 just before the R300? If so, there is how many people that live s in Kraafontein that takes the N1 and talk about wthe pleaple that live in Strand and Somerset West. Most of those people will then avoid the N1 and N2 and take different rds to get to there destination, cauze you know, there are alot of road to take to get into the city to avoind the N1 and N2. Problem is, those roads will get congested, but people will avoind it.

Now, dont you think the government is stupid in install toll road in cape town, because everything is cape town is in close proc.
 
#795 ·
The N1 is controlled by the Provincial Government from Old Oak to the city, the N2 from R300 (Swartklip) to the city. Thus, the sections beyond being tolled. These are sectors under SANRAL control.

The proposed toll-locations on the N1 are as follows:
  • Joostenbergvlakte/Kraaifontein
  • Huguenot Plaza (existing, but tolling to be almost doubled)
  • Hexpoort - between Worcester and Sandhills

Proposed toll-locations on N2:
  • Khayelitsha (somewhere near Mew Way/Spine Rd)
  • Somerset West on Helderberg Bypass
  • Bot River

Ramp-plazas will be constructed in some key places, to stop "toll avoidance" by using alternative routes. Thus, for example, DuToitskloof Pass (R101) will be tolled trapping the Breede River Valley and ramp tolls will be in place at Firlands/Sir Lowry's Pass Village, thus entrapping Grabouw/Elgin to tolls.

They have indicated tolls will be manual, thus there will not be open-road tolling, but actual toll-plazas. However, what makes this almost worse than Gauteng's eTolls, is in urban areas, public-transit can be an alternative - whether this option is a viable alternative currently or not, is debatable.

For rural tolling, no public-transit alternative will EVER exist. Thus, if your road is tolled, whether you're rich or poor, if you want to get around, you are forced to use it. An even crueler pursuit, when you consider the unemployment and social ills which exist in towns like Grabouw and De Doorns. These communities will be isolated from their nearest large service centres, namely Somerset West and Worcester respectively.

This implies to me, SANRAL is out for maximum impact and profit, with little regard for the communities in question.
 
#798 ·
...For rural tolling, no public-transit alternative will EVER exist. Thus, if your road is tolled, whether you're rich or poor, if you want to get around, you are forced to use it. An even crueler pursuit, when you consider the unemployment and social ills which exist in towns like Grabouw and De Doorns. These communities will be isolated from their nearest large service centres, namely Somerset West and Worcester respectively.

This implies to me, SANRAL is out for maximum impact and profit, with little regard for the communities in question.
Toll plazas cause congestion and absurd traffic patterns (like the many, many coal trucks which detour from the N3 via the narrow R23 past Balfour so that they can miss the N3 plaza at De Hoek. Had there been no toll plaza they would have stayed on the N3).

It separate communities: the N4 toll road has brought hard times to small towns such as Waterval Boven and Machadodorp. What tourism there was suffered badly (and no the Slaaihoek road is not a viable alternative). I often wonder how many people died on the very dangerous alternative road between WitBank and Middelburg, since the tolling on the N4 between the 2 towns started. Many people commute between the 2 towns.

Once this Cape tolling start the Western Cape can write off Clarence Drive and Gordon's Bay as a tourist attraction, being the only remaining untolled road to PE it will no doubt see countless trucks and many accidents such as that already on the R23 at Balfour. The Franchhoek Pass will no doubt see far more truck traffic than it was ever designed for.

It would seem much better to just use a fuel levy considering that Cape Town tax payers would pay just as much for GFIP than we will pay for Winelands. No doubt the Durbanites with their major N2 improvements and pending Wild Coast Road will soon suffer the same fate so the fuel levy would be fair to all round (in the big cities at last, which have most tax-payers anyway). Then the truck will stay on the major roads and towns 10km apart will not be separated by a R50 per trip toll plaza.
 
#799 · (Edited)
^^ Bottom line, we want SANRAL out of the Western Cape. It's clear to our road-users and taxpayers, national institutions and government are implementing this, because they cannot manage their finances. Our province can.

I suggested to Robin Carlisle that SANRAL cede their Western Cape road sectors to the provincial Dept. of Transport and Public Works, as well as the equitable funding share for those sectors in question. He agreed. The only SANRAL roads in the province are the N1, N2 and N7 outside the central Cape Metro to the provincial border. All other routes are provincially maintained and well-maintained at that.

For example, just currently, these are the larger capital investments to our network:
  • R44 Stellenbosch-Somerset West - going to see major capacity upgrades and roundabout interchanges being constructed.
  • R46 Gouda to Wolseley - complete rehabilitation, widening and realignment in numerous places, with grade leveling.
  • R43 Worcester-Wolseley - complete rehabilitation, major widening, some realignment
  • R320 Caledon-Hermanus: Tarring the entire route
  • R43 missing link: Gansbaai-Bredasdorp - Major operation tarring alomost 30km of road and urban improvements through Elim, providing new South Coast Connector.
  • R1.225bn for West Coast arterial upgrades and interchange redesign, includes N7 (Cape Town), R27 and R45 to Saldanha.
  • R301 Paarl-Franschhoek - complete rehabilitation/reconstruction
  • R101 Paarl-Kraaifontein - complete rehabilitation/reconstruction

This ALL with our tax money alone and these are only the R100mil plus projects. There is no place for SANRAL in a province with an ability to provide infrastructure effectively from the fiscus.
 
Top