Meeting to discuss Hunt Road one-way system
With the redevelopment of the Glenwood Village Shopping Centre, plans are afoot to make Hunt Road one-way.
A MEETING will be held on Wednesday, 8 February at Hunt Road High School from 5.30pm to 7.30pm to discuss the proposed expansion and redevelopment of Glenwood Village and conversion of Hunt Road into a one-way system.
According to Shannon Moffett, the public meeting facilitator, exciting developments are planned for Glenwood, with Glenwood Village set for an upgrade and expansion to better suit the needs of Glenwood residents.
She said the proposed facility will provide a comfortable and convenient shopping environment and parking facilities for users to enjoy. The direct effects of this renewal are an overall increase in the attraction of more shoppers and the consequent economic revitalisation of the Ward 33 and surrounding areas.
Along with this, the Glenwood Village owners, Mervelee Investments Ltd, have been engaging with various consultants and the eThekwini Municipality on how to address the current outside parking issues and traffic congestion in Hunt Road. Hunt Road is caught up between one-way systems on Musgrave Road and another from Che Guevara to Clark Roads and therefore there is significant congestion on this portion of the road, especially during peak hours.
According to Moffett, a survey of local businesses and residents in Hunt Road undertaken by Urban-Econ Development Economists found that the two-way system of Hunt Road poses many challenges, especially when exiting the shopping centre.
“With two juxtaposed exits on Hunt Road, challenges and accidents occur when vehicles simultaneously depart from the two exits of the centre and take opposite directions. Residents and local businesses also said that the road sometimes remains closed in both directions for up to 20 to 30 minutes when trucks are offloading goods to Glenwood Village,” she said.
Moffett said lack of parking, the safety of pedestrians, and general congestion were also mentioned by residents and businesses.
ILISO Consulting was appointed to undertake a traffic impact assessment to reassess a proposal for the extension of the Musgrave-Essenwood one-way system to include Hunt Road. They found that this would result in traffic improvement, and reduce congestion at both the King Dinizulu/Hunt Road and the Che Guevara/Hunt Road intersections, particularly in the afternoon peak hour. They also found that the reassignment of traffic volumes to the Che Guevara/Lena Ahrens road and King Dinizulu/Lena Ahrens Road intersections would increase, but that the change to the delay and queue length during the afternoon peak will be negligible.
The conversion is also expected to increase the capacity of the exit ramps out of the mall, into Hunt Road, reducing the waiting time, and the potential for accidents. Importantly, the number of available parking spaces between King Dinizulu Road and Che Guevara Road is expected to increase from 21 to 33 parking bays. The conversion is also expected to reduce pedestrian accidents in and around the centre.
The owners of Glenwood Village and the consultants involved in this project would like to invite Glenwood residents to the public meeting where they will present these plans, and answer any concerns and questions about them.
Safe parking is available within the school grounds on the night. For more information email Shannon: shanmoff@gmail.com or contact 079 491 6096.
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