Engagement with all of the communities along the Phase 2A footprint on the MyCiTi W6 road infrastructure project is set to take place during September/October this year “if all goes to plan”.
With little having been shared on the progress of the proposed project since last year October, People’s Post was recently informed of the City’s Urban Mobility Directorate’s plan to hold public participation process later this year.
According to Rob Quintas, the City’s Mayco member for urban mobility, the directorate would also be providing regular updates and information sessions prior to construction commencing along each of the work packages.
Referred to as “the next chapter” in the MyCiTi story, the Phase 2A will link Khayelitsha and Mitchell’s Plain with Claremont and Wynberg along one of the busiest transport corridors.
According to the MyCiTi website, the system will have buses running along dedicated red roads, or trunk routes, with some closed stations and open stops along the way.
The proposed W6 project will form part of the Phase 2A rollout.
In its current form it entails turning the existing Main Road in Wynberg into a south-bound one-way and constructing a new northbound one-way to its west by joining various existing roads with new portions, some of which will require demolitions.
On Wednesday 20 October last year, the Impact Assessment Committee (IACOM) of Heritage Western Cape (HWC) stated that it had resolved to endorse the W6 proposal’s heritage indicators and conceptual layout in principle, but required further design development in detail, following an urban design and place-making approach, as per the recommendations contained in the Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) report.
Michael Janse van Rensburg, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HWC, last month told People’s Post that HWC had not yet received further submissions for this project.
“The City of Cape Town as the applicant has not provided a time-frame within which to expect the next report to be submitted to HWC.
“The committee has not stipulated a time-frame within which to submit, this is at the prerogative of the applicant,” said Janse van Rensburg.
He added that once the City provided a report, the IACOM would review it at the next available meeting which is open to the public.
“The initial comment provided for the project by HWC has been positive, however, the City of Cape Town may only proceed with the development in question once approval has been granted by HWC, this approval if granted, is subject to an appeal period,” said Janse van Rensburg.
Quintas said the report was still being finalised.
“The current 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,” he said.
In a media statement released in June, the City stated that the Urban Mobility Directorate would be prioritising the construction of new roads, general road maintenance and new infrastructure for public transport services over the next three financial years. According to the statement, nearly R6,4 billion would be spent on capital projects over the next three financial years, with about R1,4 billion budgeted for 2022/23.
Quintas said, given that W6 was still in the design development stage, it was unlikely that the City would commence with new infrastructure along W6 in the new financial year starting 1 July.
“The budget allocated for the new financial year is mainly for the construction of infrastructure along other parts of the routes that form part of Phase 2A,” he said.
He added that the money allocated to W6 for the new financial year was mainly intended for the completion of design work.
“The budget will be spent on the completion of design development for the W6 work package and the design of the Wynberg Public Transport Interchange improvement project.
“The Claremont bus facility concept design will be completed post the public engagement process that will be followed in September/October 2022,” said Quintas.
The combined new roadways in W6 will approximately stretch over 2,95 Km.
In an interview with Karen Gird, chair of Wynberg Residents and Ratepayers Association (WRRA), last year, she described the proposed north-bound route as effectively a second Main Road built parallel to the existing one.
“Creating a second Main Road parallel to the existing one, making both roads one-way, will result in the destruction of established neighbourhoods and dividing of communities along apartheid-era racial lines, as houses are demolished and families lose their homes,” she said at the time.
Asked if some of the demolitions might go ahead as early as this year, Quintas said that at this point in time they did not foresee the demolition of property in the 2022/23 financial year.
“However, it cannot be ruled out as projects of this magnitude are influenced by many variables,” he said.
