January 15, 2007
By Neil Fraser
I TRUST you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and are safely back in harness. May 2007 be a great year for you and yours - and for Jozi.
During December last year the first three workshops leading to the Inner City Summit and Charter were held. Participants in each of the sectors were asked to share what they thought would make the city more livable for citizens and visitors and vibrant and attractive to all its users.
The sectors covered were safety, security and urban management; public and leisure spaces, arts, culture and heritage; and transport.
I covered the first two of the workshops in the last two Citichats of 2006 but there wasn't time to cover the third. So, we start 2007 with this report on the December 2006 transport workshop.
Just a reminder - these workshops, and a whole lot more that will follow in the next few months, are working towards an Inner City Summit and Charter to be held on 5 May, and stem from concerns by Executive Mayor Amos Masondo that:
- There must be ongoing mobilisation of stakeholders around inner city regeneration;
· There needs to be clarity on what stakeholders' critical concerns are and there should be meaningful and robust debate around these, leading to solutions; and
· The programme of solutions must bind all stakeholders to common actions.
Transport workshop
The City's Transport Department provided the workshop with an overview of far-reaching plans for the metropolis, including some critical aspects relative to the inner city.
I was reminded as it did so that I had been highly critical of one particular aspect of its Integrated Transport Plan 2003 to 2008 (Citichat 29 of 2004). This was in regard to the proposal to have a large proportion of public transport avoid the inner city:
"Of concern is the negative economic impact on the inner city as a result of redesigning transportation systems that will result in direct routing that in turn will reduce the numbers of people passing through the inner city."
Well, the good news is that the department now recognises the inner city as a key transportation hub and by-passing it is no longer being entertained.
Back to the overview - a new proposal or refinement to the previous plans is for the introduction of a R2-billon Integrated Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, named Rea Vaya. This will result in hundreds of new 160-seater buses using dedicated bus lanes on the following routes:
· Lenasia to Sunninghill, via Regina Mundi, Orlando, Highgate, Parktown, Rosebank and Sandton;
· Alexandra to Randburg, via Sandton;
· Dobsonville to the inner city, via Pat Mbatha Transitway;
· Parktown to Ellis Park, via Saratoga Avenue; and
· Soweto Highway to Dobsonville
The BRT is quite an "aggressive" system that provides the following features:
exclusive right-of-way lanes; rapid boarding and alighting; pre-board fare collection and fare verification; enclosed stations that are safe and comfortable; clear route maps; signage and information displays; automatic vehicle location technology; modal integration at stations and terminals; and bus operators contracted to provide the services.
Buses will run from 5am to midnight every 10 minutes and every one to three minutes during peak times.
I travelled on a similar system in Curitiba, Brazil, some years back and if our BRT system is anything like theirs, which it promises to be, it will change our travel patterns forever - and very much for the better. It was quick, easy, efficient and economical. BRTs in various cities in the world have reduced traffic, air and noise pollution and lengthy commuting times.
Traffic routes
The routes of the Inner City Distribution System (ICDS) that I first referred to in Citichat 29 of 2004 are being reappraised to integrate fully with the rest of the BRT.
In addition an international transit and shopping centre is being planned for the Park Station precinct that will provide all the necessary connections between the Gautrain Station, Park Station, Metro Mall, Jack Mincer and Noord Street Long Distance Taxi Ranks.
You've heard it all before in other guises?
Maybe, but previously there wasn't the urgency of a looming and immovable 2010 commitment - so the proposal has already found council favour (it was approved on 23 November 2006); planning is at an advanced stage; and construction is slated to start in the latter part of this year.
The buses should be in service before April 2009, providing a year of testing and bedding down before the first ball is kicked off.
Comments and queries
A number of comments, queries and concerns were raised at the workshop.
Regarding the planned bus systems, how energy efficient and "clean air" friendly was the BRT and ICDS? Overseas examples used energy efficient vehicles, surely this was an opportunity for us to do the same?
Was the BRT-ICDS the best option? What about a tram system for the inner city?
Safety and security, management and operational issues: major operational problems existed around Joubert Park and the Johannesburg Art Gallery. One of the problems, which I was certainly not aware of, was that the long distance (cross-border) taxis that rank in the area were licensed by the national government, which had no idea of capacity or what effect these taxis were having on the city.
The City thus had no control over numbers. It is an issue of international government protocols. It seems crazy to me that some taxis fall under the national and provincial government and it is time that this is brought under one authority so that it can be properly co-ordinated and managed.
In order to ensure the optimal safety and security of the public, it would be necessary to enforce the use of dedicated lanes - who would do that? Surely there was a need for a specifically designated enforcement team to regulate public transport?
Commuters needed to be educated to stop demanding taxis drop them off and pick them up where it suited them. Taxis created havoc by stopping where they pleased.
Bus shelters and stations could become the focus of criminals.
The linkages between transport and informal trading must be taken into account, perhaps creating dedicated markets and road closures.
Taxis
There was a strong call for taxis to be ranked off-street but the difficulty was finding adequate space for this to happen. Many ranks were perceived to be "illegal" and this aspect should be regulated.
There appeared to be confusion over who was responsible for enforcement and management of taxis.
Concern was expressed that some ranks, such as Faraday, were not being used - why?
There was a need for information and education on existing taxi usage, for example destination hand signs. But taxis also needed to have legible destination signage. In addition there appeared to be no provision for the disabled.
The existing taxi system would have to be integrated into any future public transport system.
Land use
Concerns were raised regarding land use and development control around stations and along transport routes.
Given that BRT functioned on specific fixed routes, it would become critical that the land use, density and zoning along transport routes and around the transport nodes and hubs were carefully considered and controlled. Issues such as ground floor use, types of retail, informal trade management and linkages with public open space all would become important.
The inner city currently has fairly narrow pavements. Would a focus on the provision of public transport increase pedestrian use and thus a need to widen the pavements?
Gautrain and SA Rail Commuter Corporation
Integration between the two rail systems as well as with other forms of public transport was critical and concern was raised that Gautrain was perceived to be ignoring aspects of this and was intransigent. For example, the distance between Park Station and Metro Mall was being ignored.
Parking and bicycles
The strategy regarding parking provision in the inner city was not clear. Was the long-term plan to dissuade private car usage and have peripheral parking and only public transport in the CBD?
Currently the lack of adequate all-day parking facilities for the public was hampering development. Did we know how much parking was optimal now and in the future, where it could be developed and who should manage it?
The issue of car guards and parking meters was raised as not having any strategy nor management and enforcement. The City was losing huge potential income and Cape Town was cited as an example of a city that had tackled the issue very successfully.
Why was it that people consistently ignored bicycles? They offered a low-cost, democratic and environmentally friendly form of public transport?
Readers' comments
The following are some additional comments I received from Citichat readers:
"Taxi facilities should be expanded and be well maintained. This is our de facto public transport system and therefore the City cannot deny responsibility for providing appropriate infrastructure. In return for providing better facilities, taxis should be more rigorously policed - washing of taxis on streets should not be allowed."
"An effective, safe and reliable public transport network is one based on customer needs rather than money. (Gautrain will make lots of money for some large companies due to property investments, and may serve a purpose for some commuters, and perhaps it's a good start, but it won't serve the needs of the majority of commuters).
"And please (off the track a little but related) - no more bloody stupid experiments like the Johannesburg-Pretoria highway recently. You can only penalise single-person car occupants (like me) if you offer a viable alternative. (I travel that highway each weekday). Put a usable public transport system in place like other large cities around the world. It's huge and it's long term, but we need to start sometime. Urbanisation isn't going to decrease. Yes, a good system is a pipe dream I know, but we can hope …"
"The issue is having Joburg's maxi taxis using one colour or allowing cellphone companies and/or airlines to paint the maxi taxis with their colour for advertising and paying the taxi owners. It will be good to emphasize the issue of standardisation in all our transport systems. So far taxis, buses and trains are the ones that the government has focused on and the maxi, or meter, taxis have been ignored."
"Cycle paths would improve movement in the city as it will be easier for people to move around using bicycles."
"At Noord Street Taxi Rank there are guys who are using trolleys - Pick 'n Pay, Checkers and so on - to help people with plenty of luggage. That's a good idea but again I'm sure that there are people who have fallen victim of crime. The City must not stop the service but instead make sure that it is run professionally and all those guys must be registered."
"Next to the Bree Street Taxi Rank, as you go over Nelson Mandela Bridge, there is a space used by taxi drivers to wash their vehicles. I think the space should be turned into a car wash and a ‘Bring and Braai' place whereby even private car owners can wash their cars and braai.
"If possible a huge screen can be installed so that guys can watch sports. There needs to be an all-time presence of Pikitup staff to clean up the place and the security must be tightened. Better lighting will also be needed so that the place can be alive after dusk. Proper drainage must be installed and the car washers must be trained and required to register their businesses."
"I think some of the taxi guys who are leaving the industry because of the taxi recapitalisation programme should be called in to invest in things like three-wheeled cars that can be used as transport in the CBD between different entertainment areas.
"Unlike Cape Town, I do not believe that Johannesburg is ready for a sightseeing bus within the CBD, but as the rejuvenation continues to places like Hillbrow and around the taxi ranks, it could be introduced."
"Metro police should be on site around taxi ranks to direct the traffic as it is difficult to cross the streets as the taxi drivers don't care - they just go through the red robots and at some point hit people, especially in the morning and evening. Our grandpas and grandmas are struggling big-time because they can't run across the streets."
"The other thing that our municipality should take into consideration is to create plenty of bus and taxi stops around the CBD and other areas in Joburg as the taxi drivers stop everywhere and cause havoc.
"There needs to be penalties against people who stop taxis wherever they want and the taxi drivers should face heavy penalties, including repossessing their taxis for a couple of days, for not obeying the laws. Pedestrians must only cross by the robots or the stop signs and not in the middle of the road."
"I think the summit should deal with closing streets in the blocks around Beyers Naude Square from Kerk to Commissioner streets or even as far as Main Street on Saturday afternoons and Sundays to create a huge pedestrianised area.
"Rollerskating, cycling, shopping, ball games - the city should be alive with all its residents out and about. It doesn't need to be a jamboree, just opening up space so that people living there are entitled to enjoy all the space the cars use on weekdays. It could be great."
There have been lots of comments, queries and suggestions. They will all be taken to the next level and debated as to practicality for implementation. Transport - and its effect on other aspects of the city - is critical for the efficient working of our city. And then there's the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup.
All the best again for 2007.
Regards, Neil
PS: There is an amazing display of historic photographs of the city at Museum Africa that is really worth a visit.
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
