The City of Cape Town is planning several changes to reduce the time residents spend in traffic every day – including wider roads and flexible working hours.<\/p>\n
The proposals are included in the city\u2019s new draft Integrated Development Plans (IDP) which is currently open for public comment.<\/p>\n
Every municipality in South Africa is required to produce an IDP. The document encompasses all of a municipality\u2019s goals and objectives for economic and social development in the short-, medium- and long-term.<\/p>\n
IDPs are meant to outline strategies to manage municipal finances for the purpose of facilitating everything from basic service provision to infrastructural development, improved spatial planning and even disaster management.<\/p>\n
“Congestion on Cape Town roads is costly for the economy and commuters in terms of both time and money. It also harms the environment and affects the efficiency and speed of road-based public transport such as minibus taxis and contracted buses,” the city said.<\/p>\n
“The city remains committed to improving public transport access and expanding nonmotorised transport infrastructure as the most effective ways to reduce congestion. At the same time, however, it will work to reduce the time residents spend in traffic through targeted road capacity improvements and interventions.”<\/p>\n
Interventions<\/b><\/p>\n
The city said it will address major pressure points in the road network through infrastructure investments to alleviate congestion.<\/p>\n
“These projects will focus on roads that typically have a peak traffic period in excess of two hours. These include locations where road improvements can alleviate the impact of congestion on road-based public transport services,” it said.<\/p>\n
Some of the targeted road capacity expansions will include:<\/p>\n
The city said it plans to invest in modern technologies such as vehicle detection systems and traffic signal controllers to improve the movement of vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists.<\/p>\n
“These technology upgrades will improve the city\u2019s ability to manage how people and cars move through the city at different times of the day, and meaningfully contribute towards reducing congestion.”<\/p>\n
“Building on the benefits of infrastructure interventions that prioritise public transport and non-motorised transport for reducing the need to travel by private vehicle, the city will focus on stakeholder engagement, including the promotion of flexible work programmes for large employers.”<\/p>\n
The city said it also plans to ‘strategically manage’ on-street parking to accommodate a range of travel modes in Cape Town\u2019s business districts.<\/p>\n