According to the document, peak traffic times in Cape Town’s major arterial routes have increased from 07:00 to 0:900 (two hours) to 06:00 to 10:00 (four hours) over the past two years.<\/p>\n
The key areas which\u00a0were identified as “priority” routes are:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Marine Drive (R27)<\/li>\n
- N1 from Marine Drive to N7, and between Durban Road and
\nOkavango Road<\/li>\n - N2 from Modderdam Road to Cape Town CBD, and
\nbetween Borchard Quarry Road and R300<\/li>\n - M5 from Racecourse Road to Koeberg Interchange<\/li>\n
- M3 from Wynberg Hill<\/li>\n
- N2 through to Somerset West<\/li>\n
- Kommetjie<\/li>\n
- Kuilsriver<\/li>\n
- Parklands<\/li>\n
- Waterfront and surrounds<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
“Traffic congestion is a problem that is not going to be completely removed. In fact congestion can be seen as a product of successful cities since all the activities that make living in urban areas so attractive are also the reasons why we need to travel,” the city said.<\/p>\n
However, it noted that it is important to look at how cities are planned and to manage their growth to best avoid traffic issues escalating.<\/p>\n
“We cannot simply build our way out of traffic congestion by widening roads, since this will only attract more vehicles and is not sustainable,” it said. However,\u00a0the CMP makes a number of proposals to try and reduce the time spent on the roads of Cape Town.<\/p>\n
Chief among the suggestions is a proposal that business shake up the tried-and-true notion of a typical work week – looking for ways to push workers to use the roads at different times, or to make fewer trips to the office.<\/p>\n
These are the main suggestions outlined:<\/p>\n
\n![\"myciti\"](\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/MyCiti-640x426.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n1. Extending dedicated lanes<\/strong><\/p>\n
One of the first strategies involves extending dedicated lanes for buses and minibuses, as well as other high occupancy vehicles.<\/p>\n
The city also wants to look at international practices of car sharing and lift club incentive schemes.<\/p>\n
\n![\"cape-town-traffic\"](\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Cape-Town-traffic-640x432.png\")
<\/a>Img: Alaister Russell, Future Cape Town<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n
2. Park and Ride plans<\/strong><\/p>\n
Expand park and ride infrastructure along with parking management to get more cars off of the roads in peak traffic spots.<\/p>\n
The city said that it has put out a tender for a parking pricing and parking management system, which will be concluded and managed.<\/p>\n
\n![\"Business](\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Business-Stress.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n3. Flexible working hours<\/strong><\/p>\n
The city suggests that flexible working ours will successfully alleviate pressure during peak hours.<\/p>\n
It plans to roll out such a strategy with its 27,000 staff members, and will engage with other businesses in Cape Town to try a similar approach.<\/p>\n
This includes a “core working hour” strategy – where employees should be present for core hours (10:00 – 14:00) but can work the other 4 hours at various times; working on variable days; or staggering working hours.<\/p>\n
Other possible strategies include a compressed work week (working full-time hours in fewer than 5 days) and working remotely.<\/p>\n
\n![\"Fill](\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Fill-up-fuel-petrol-640x430.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n4. Congestion charge \/ fuel levy<\/strong><\/p>\n
The City of Cape Town has successfully blocked Sanral from building a toll network similar to e-tolls in Gauteng in the city.<\/p>\n
However, funding is still needed to maintain, extend and develop the city’s roads. The CMP proposes a special congestion tax or an increase in the fuel levy to meet finance targets.<\/p>\n
Other places money may be involved is in having time reduction measures worked into fares for public transport.<\/p>\n
\n![\"bike-share-example\"](\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Bike-share-example-640x366.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n5. Encourage bicycle use through bike sharing<\/strong><\/p>\n
The city plans to introduce its first “bike share” project, which would see bicycles made available for citizens to use over short periods.<\/p>\n
The system is popular in many European cities, and the Western Cape government is keen to implement it in Cape Town. The system will be put out to tender.<\/p>\n
\nMore on traffic<\/h3>\n
Cape Town traffic is worse than Joburg: index<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
Cape Town\u2019s R750 million plan to fight traffic congestion<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
The sneaky new way traffic cops try to catch you speeding<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n