Anthony Orelowitz - Paragon Architects:

As things stand currently, we are heading for a crisis with regards to infrastructural demands within the Sandton CBD. Availability of land is becoming limited, resulting in the optimisation of rights which has a significant direct impact on traffic and general services. Whilst developers can upgrade general services, which are site specific, the overall vision for Sandton needs to be driven by local government, supported by developers and ultimately end-users. We are currently sitting on a watershed, where resources are going to become scarce in ways which were difficult to grasp three to five years ago.
 
This condition is globally pervasive.

No single measure taken will have a significant impact on this demand. We will have to change our attitudes and behaviour as a community in order to be able to cope with these new demands. As a collective, we will have to make use of the Gautrain and localised bus routes. Our buildings will have to become more efficient in order to maximise our rights allocations and tenants will, as a matter of Corporate Governance, force us to comply. Greening for green sake may make sense in principal; however the property industry is very rapidly finding that it is engaging with these issues because, for the first time, it is financially prudent to do so.
 
On a micro level developers and end users of property, are rapidly shifting their parameters of engagement, adapting to our current situation. On a macro level, we are currently split and, on the one hand, we have bold interventions around issues such as transport, but Eskom is the other end of the scale. The question is not whether we will change, but how this change comes about.

Wolf Cesman - executive director, Madison Property Fund Managers:

If Sandton is the business hub of South Africa, and if it is the major metropolitan area in South Africa, then it should be equated to major metropolitan cities in other countries. The infrastructural issues that Sandton faces, such as peak-hour traffic congestion, are the same issues that leading cities such as New York, Paris, London, Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong struggle with. The fact that Sandton is experiencing these challenges puts it on a par with other major cities around the world. In this sense, the infrastructural problems which Sandton is experiencing can be seen as a good sign and symptomatic of any leading first-world business hub.

That said, a world-class city requires world-class management systems, and there is much room for improvement in this case.

For Sandton, as South Africa’s financial and business showcase, there are many areas which could, and should, be addressed to ensure the future sustainability and status of this commercial hub. Adequate, well-maintained infrastructure is key for this.

In many cases in Sandton the infrastructural burden is passed onto private investors for capital investment and maintenance. While many Sandton Central property owners and developers have assumed some of the responsibilities traditionally apportioned to local authorities such as the provision of parking facilities, the policing, cleaning and beautifying of streets and the upgrading of roads and traffic signals around their properties, there are areas of improvement which only government – be it local, provincial or national – can provide.

There is no denying that transport access to the area is poor, with kilometre tailbacks on the highways serving Sandton a regular occurrence. Peak traffic periods now extend up to four hours every morning and evening. An upgrade to these highways is long overdue, even with the future introduction of the Gautrain and extensively improved bus routes. Planning (highways) and maintenance (roads) go hand-in-glove and both are sorely needed.
Recent cases of raw sewerage flowing on the streets represent another example of infrastructural inadequacy, which should fall on the shoulders of local authorities.

Proactive management is essential for the success of a city and stringent management systems and controls, and the related capital investment, are necessary to achieve this. For example, in Paris, one never sees a light not working along the Champs-Elysées, as this city understands the importance of projecting the right image – not only in its tourism and investment ‘brand’, but also in the actual experience of its ‘product’.
 
Local authorities need to step up and make evident the pride of ownership in the trade gem Sandton represents, and take proactive responsibility for their areas of delivery.

One of the elements that Sandton does lack in comparison to other major cities in the world is a high level of pedestrianisation. Few people can be seen walking to local eateries or shops during lunch hour. While this may be because of safety concerns, the introduction of the Gautrain could be the solution to bringing more pedestrians to the area and creating more vibrant social interaction. There are superb buildings being developed in Sandton, unfortunately the quality and liveliness of our public space does not correspond. Importantly, it is this public space which visitors to Sandton will mostly experience.

A city that works reflects the economy and a country that works. Local authorities need to assume ownership, set standards and enforce them and this can only be achieved with adequate infrastructure.
There is much in Sandton which is being done right. However, where adequate, well-maintained infrastructure cannot be achieved, the applicable assessment rates and budget allocations should be passed onto private enterprises and these elements should be administered privately.

Cara Reilly - Sandton Central Management District:

Sandton Central is regularly touted as an infrastructural nightmare. While this criticism may at times be justified, people forget that this is a city in change. While the district is already Africa’s commercial hub, the corporate property market is extremely active, with a myriad of developments currently in the ground and set to come on stream over time. But, just like any new city, we do have our problems, problems that have been exacerbated by the exponential rate of commercial development and the unfortunate tendency to plan and develop simultaneously - and the reality of implementing both at the same time. Fortunately Sandton Central is a city improvement district managed by the Sandton Central Management District (SCMD).
 
It is through this vehicle that we have been part of the development of the comprehensive Sandton Urban Development Framework. An initial document was developed by the SCMD and the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) and completed in July 2006. This was followed by a second Urban Development Framework (UDF) document prepared by Akanya as contracted by the City of Johannesburg (CoJ). This contract called on Akanya to develop UDF discussion documents for all the key nodes of the city and the UDF relating to Sandton Central and the wider Sandton area was accepted by the City of Johannesburg in mid June 2008.

This guideline document clearly defines and addresses Sandton’s future infrastructure and service needs to facilitate densification and developments within greater Sandton.