The Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit system (BRT)’s entry into Alexandra is becoming more evident.
The BRT is part of the city’s regeneration plans; interlinking of its transport infrastructure aims to propel the city and province’s economic development and to ease traffic congestion. The Alexandra link follows similar developments which have been undertaken linking Soweto, Hillbrow and other parts of the West Rand with the inner city.
The Alexandra development involves excavating the centre island of Louis Botha Avenue (Old Pretoria Road), which has now reached the corner of Arkwright Avenue, Wynberg. The development will continue into Vincent Tshabalala Road towards Alexandra.
A related development has also started within the township and involves the upgrading of Alfred Nzo Avenue from 1st to 15th Avenue. According to community liaison officer Samuel Moiloa, the upgrade, which is at excavation stage, will involve relaying of the pavements with BRT-branded red bricks and tarring of the road. He said the pavement work will take nine months, while tarring the road will take much longer. He added that while the community embraced the developments, there were problems emanating from lack of consultation in the contracting process with all key stakeholders, such as the Greater Alexandra Development Forum and taxi associations. As a result, the development “circumvented communities’ expectations” of their involvement through sub-contracting and general labour, he said. He added that consulting the community would have assisted street vendors and homeowners to prepare themselves for the new development.
“As it is, some vendors had to dispose of their wares because of spoilage by dust and some homeowners don’t know who will repair …perimeter walls which have been damaged by heavy machinery,” he added.
