For the record

Marian Nieuwoudt, Mayco member for spatial planning and environment

In response to last week’s article (“Pleading for better space,” Bulletin, September 5): No land-use application, nor building plans for a container or any other structure/ building on this property has been submitted to the City of Cape Town over the past five years.

The property has a split zone of Transport (TR2) and Single Residential (SR1) and would therefore, require a consent application to permit the container to be used as a place of instruction.

An approved building plan for the container would also be required.

Liddy Cummins, Kreupelbosch

The traffic light intersection between Spaanschematriver Road and Ladies Mile is well on the way to being a traffic circle.

The traffic lights at this intersection currently introduce breaks in the southward vehicle stream on Ladies Mile, and these breaks greatly assist motorists exiting the M3 and turning right onto Ladies Mile.

The traffic circle will surely have an impact on this traffic flow.

Are there plans to improve the M3 / Ladies Mile intersection?

Felicity Purchase,
Mayco member for transport, responds:

The roundabout at the Ladies Mile/Spaanschematriver Road intersection was implemented as a result of the approval of the shopping centre on Erf 14011, which forms part of the land-restitution claim of a portion of the Old Ladies Mile Dump site. Furthermore, the City’s Transport Department recommended that the Ladies Mile, Huxley Road and the M3 road intersection also be upgraded from a signalised intersection to a roundabout to improve the overall operation of the intersection, to allow for continuity of traffic flow on Ladies Mile Road, to serve as a traffic calming measure, and to improve the overall safety at the intersection.

The benefits of this secondary upgrade are:

To improve the overall intersection level of service as roundabouts actually move traffic through an intersection more quickly, with less congestion on approach roads.

To allow for the continuity of traffic flow on Ladies Mile Road between the three roundabouts namely Ladies Mile, Huxley Road and Firgrove Way.

To serve as a traffic-calming measure and to reduce traffic speeds at this intersection and along this corridor.

To improve the overall safety at the intersection as drivers must slow down / yield to enter the roundabout and there is no signal (red traffic light) to beat.

That said, there is currently an application for the amendment of one of the conditions of the original approval, to remove the upgrade of the Huxley Road intersection. This application is based on the financial impact of the condition imposed and further questions whether the Huxley Road upgrade can be considered reasonable, balanced and equitable.

The outcome of this application is still pending.