Joint effort needed to tackle growing freeway congestion 
Nick Wilson

 
 
THE severe traffic congestion already experienced on the freeways, particularly in Midrand, will soon become an all-day problem as thousands of new cars hit the roads every year.

Brian Roberts, a professional traffic engineer and transport planner at PD Naidoo & Associates, says the Midrand, Kyalami and Fourways areas already have traffic “oversaturation”.

He says the N1, N3 and M1 freeways, which offer access to Midrand, Kyalami and Fourways, are clogged. “The N1 in the Midrand area is virtually in a peak situation throughout the day,” says Roberts.

This has been fuelled by widespread commercial and residential property development in the area, as well as developments within the Johannesburg and Tshwane metropolitan areas.

“People are travelling between Tshwane and Johannesburg and adding further demand to freeways. Traffic on the N1 is growing at 7% a year on average.”

Roberts says because of a lack of public transport systems in those areas, commuters must use private transport. This adds to the growing demand on the roads.

“The solution is for the affected municipalities to plan and implement public transport systems. This is challenging because you can’t disinvent the motor car and it has become part of the social culture of SA. A car is a symbol of wealth, freedom and independence.”

Roberts says 600000 new cars were added to South African roads last year, with about 50% of these in Gauteng.

He says housing in the Midrand and Kyalami areas is less expensive than other established areas, so first-time buyers tend to buy in these areas rather than close to public transport systems.

“And the downside of living out there is you have to use your motor car to go to work.”

Apart from the public transport system plan, Gauteng is also looking at other options to ease the pressure on freeways.

He says the Gauteng public transport, roads and works department is considering a toll road strategy for the Gauteng area where they would allow consortiums of contractors and interested parties to build new freeways and charge a toll to cover costs.

Roberts says it is imperative that development does not get halted because of traffic congestion. Rather, the implementation of public transport systems should be accelerated. The Gautrain system is one part of that accelerated solution.

Johannesburg developer Patrick Flanagan of Flanagan & Gerard says SA’s roads authorities are not there to be an obstacle to development but should be realistic by imposing requirements for either the upgrading of existing roads or the building of new roads to cater for the increase in traffic “occasioned” by a development.

This would be supported by a traffic impact assessment (TIA) conducted by professional traffic engineers employed by developers of a project.

He says conducting a TIA is a standard practice by developers.

TIAs consider the effect of a development on both the immediate and broader roads infrastructure. A TIA report is sent to local, provincial and national authorities, he says.

Flanagan says the three spheres of government would then consult with the professional traffic engineer and decide what additional roads infrastructure is required.

“This could be a very localised requirement like an extra turning lane on a local road or it could go right up to the building of new roads or even interchanges on national roads.

“For example with Allandale, if you consider that you have a huge amount of undeveloped land both east and west of the N1, the logic would have to indicate that there would have to be a major upgrading of the Allandale offramp, which could include, for example, the widening of the bridge over the N1 and even the possibility of widening of Allandale Road itself.”

Flanagan says there is “no doubt” the road infrastructure does not have sufficient capacity to carry current traffic volumes.

“Developers, local, provincial and central government must work together to bring about the necessary improvements to road infrastructure,” he says.

In a number of new developments in and around Johannesburg, developers have built additional roads to cater for the increase in traffic to the areas.

Developers Universal Property Professionals — the group which owns the Kyalami Race Track and 72ha of land in the racetrack area — will be paying for a new road to link Lonehill and Kyalami’s main road.

The group, which is rolling out a major residential, retail and office development over the next four years, is facilitating the creation of a new road to create different entrances to Kyalami to reduce traffic congestion at the entrance to Kyalami.

Bronwyn Krummeck, marketing manager for Kyalami Race Track and Universal Property Professionals, says Universal has a four-year plan for the multibillion-rand redevelopment and development of the 72ha.

Krummeck says the group plans to develop a “mini Monte Carlo” on the land, including upmarket residential units, retail property and offices.

Universal Property Professionals says it is still finalising plans for the development but it will feature street cafes, a boutique hotel and a retail centre.