Extensive pavement development, road widening and new road markings have been done in the Constantia, Bergvliet and Meadowridge area during the course of this year.
Ward 71 councillor Penny East said the money was sourced from National Treasury and not from the City of Cape Town.
This was confirmed by mayoral committee member for area south, Eddie Andrews, who said non-motorised transport (NMT) funding came from the national government.
However, Caroline Tebbutt, secretary of the Tokai Residents’ Association (TRA), was surprised by how much (R63 million) was being spent on constructing paths for walkers along Firgrove Way. “Unless they are expecting a lot of foot traffic in the future. The previous path seemed adequate in that regard. A number of Tokai residents are very unhappy with the high expenditure on these paths, while Lismore Avenue, which is far busier than Firgrove in terms of vehicular, foot and bicycle traffic, being on the route to the greenbelt, is the original road in Tokai which has never been upgraded and which is in dire need of an upgrade. The camber of the road is completely wrong, there are no pedestrian paths and no kerbstones,” said Ms Tebbutt.
Ward 62 councillor Liz Brunette, who serves on the Transport and Urban Development committee, said the NMT routes along Ladies Mile are one of the connections from Spaanschemat River Road to the Main Road.
“Pedestrian pathways are next to or separated from the road for road safety purposes. Pedestrians, wheelchairs and runners use the pedestrian pathways, which are proving very popular for commuters, local residents and visitors to the area,” said Ms Brunette.
Ms Tebbutt says there is confusion as to who the different
paths are meant for and what yellow lines and green sections mean.
Mr Andrews says the green paint shows motorists that it is a cycle lane and that the cyclists have right of way. This is used in areas where motorists and cyclists are sharing the same space, such as intersections and circles.
Ms Brunette says the broad yellow dashed lines indicate where the cycle lane is, with green surface treatment indication the cycle path at and approach-
ing intersections with other
roads.
“A positive aspect is the improvement to Orpen and Spaanschemat by making it safer for cyclists living in Westlake,” said Ms Tebbutt.
Robert Vogel, CEO of the Pedal Power Association said he is very happy that the City is catering for the needs of cyclists and pedestrians, by constructing appropriate infrastructure. “We welcome the additions to the NMT network. There are lot of utility cyclists that use Steenberg Road and the addition of the cycle lane will certainly help to give them their own (safe) space on the road,” said Mr Vogel.
Mr Andrews said the project is scheduled to be completed in December.
John Lombard of Bergvliet feels there has been very little or no explanation of the roadworks in the press to advise what it is all about.
However, Ms Tebbutt is surprised that Mr Lombard knows nothing about this project. Ms East had circulated the information to residents via their newsletter.
