Engagements with private owners of properties that will be impacted and affected by the Main Road/Brodie Road couplet in Wynberg has begun, the City of Cape Town has confirmed.
Last week, the City held two information days – at Wittebome Civic Centre on Tuesday 18 April and at the Alphen Centre on Thursday 20 April – on the proposed permanent and partial road closures needed to implement the couplet.
READ | Plans for couplet in Wynberg gear up with public participation process now open
Brodie Road (including Tenby and Glaren roads) will be realigned to form a new double carriageway in a northerly direction towards Kenilworth.
Simultaneously, the existing Main Road will be turned into a double carriageway in a southerly direction towards Plumstead.
The City proposes to turn several roads intersecting with the couplet into one-ways, and to permanently close three roads.
The couplet will include six new signalised intersections with six proposed kerbside MyCiTi stops – three along the new Brodie Road carriageway and three along the Main Road carriageway.
According to a map provided by the City, the new road will cut across at least three commercial property blocks (starting from Rockley Road and crossing Malton Road and Wilson Road) as well as at least six largely residential blocks (crossing Langley Road, Wellington Road, Benjamin Road, Egglestone Road, Piers Road and Millbank Road).
In total, 18 public properties/erven/land parcels and 17 privately owned public properties will be impacted.
According to Rob Quintas, the City’s Mayco member for urban mobility, of the properties owned by the City, four will be fully impacted, and 14 will be partially impacted
“One of the partially impacted erven/land parcels is a public open space zoned for transport purposes; and two of the partially impacted erven/land parcels are zoned Local Business,” says Quintas.
Of the privately owned properties impacted, 11 are commercial in nature. Of these, six will be fully impacted and five partially impacted. Of the six residential properties impacted, two will be fully impacted and four partially impacted.
Quintas says that in some cases only a sliver of an erf/land parcel may be needed.
“The City will engage the impacted property owners on an individual basis, as needed, to discuss the acquisitions.”
As for City property that may need to be demolished for the couplet, Quintas says a separate process will be followed.
“Which includes obtaining approval from the City’s Council to demolish the impacted buildings as no City-owned building may be demolished or disposed of without Council’s prior approval,” he adds.
During the open day held in Wynberg last week, project manager Paul Faria of HHO Consulting Engineer told People’s Post that Main Road, “except for widening here and there” (and the three MyCiTi stops) would largely remain as is with no impact on existing storefronts. Both the double carriageways will be for general traffic. In other words, there won’t be dedicated bus lanes in either.
Quintas adds there will be new cycle/walking lanes along Main Road. These will not impact the existing buildings.
“We are still finalising the detail design of the couplet, meaning, the outcome of the public participation process and the conclusion of the Heritage Impact Assessment and heritage authorisations will influence the final detail design,” he says
Michael Janse van Rensburg, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Heritage Western Cape, last week told People’s Post that the City had not submitted further design development for HWC to evaluate since the matter was last heard in October 2021.
While the committee did not stipulate a time-frame within which the City had to submit the amended report, the City may only proceed with the development once final approval has been granted by HWC.
Once the project does get the final sign off, the two double carriageways will leave a section of properties sandwiched in the middle.
Faria told People’s Post that a team of urban architects was informing the City on how to link up this area with west and east and to make it as pedestrian friendly as possible, “with a focus on preserving heritage”.
Quintas says the current detail designs are in the process of being amended based on the urban design and place-making approach.
“Only once this has been completed, can the revised Heritage Impact Assessment report be amended and submitted to HWC. All of the aspects mentioned above, will form part of this report.”
Eavesdropping on residents’ comments during Tuesday’s meeting, it was clear that conserving the area’s heritage was a concern for many, as was the possible fallout of disruptive road construction on businesses located on Main Road.
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While no exact date for the start of construction was given, “a hopefully within three years” answer was given to a person who asked about the time frame.
Quintas says they are still some way off from construction.
“The detail design will be completed after the comments from the current ongoing public participation process have been considered. Once finalised, the City will commence with the procurement process to appoint a contractor, and it is in preparation of this procurement process that the construction sequencing will be finalised.”
He adds, that as with all City related construction projects, “and in particular in central business districts”, the contractor is obliged to provide a traffic accommodation plan for approval to the City.
“This plan must indicate how the contractor intends to manage traffic – vehicular and pedestrian – during the construction period to minimise the impact on residents, visitors and businesses as far as possible; to minimise the impact on public transport services; and also, not to compromise on road safety.”
Residents can comment on the proposed directional changes and full road closures until Friday 5 May. However, Quintas says, the City will not be hosting a separate information day to discuss properties to be demolished or acquired to make way for the couplet.
“The concept design has been approved by the City’s Council in March 2019 already,” he says.
