Cycle lanes a challenge

Auckland Park and Brixton residents might’ve woken up to missing pavements a few weeks ago– much to their surprise.

This is due to a project by the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA), which is currently constructing cycling lanes and upgrading derelict pavements.

JDA engineer Siyabonga Genu said at an Auckland Park Resident’s Association meeting that the objective of the project is to create pedestrian mobility through walking and cycling.

The idea, according to Genu, was spearheaded by the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and the University of Witwatersrand (Wits).

“The universities wanted to encourage students to use bicycles as alternative transport instead of buses,” he said.

“The route runs from UJ DFC Campus to UJ Kingsway Campus, and runs along Jorrisen Street, Enoch Sontonga Avenue (past Wits), Caroline Street and Solomon Street,” he added.

The project, which includes erecting CCTV cameras, will work on a R65-millon budget – about R10 million of which will be allocated to CCTV security.

Genu said the cameras will be connected to the Metro Police control room, which will alleviate some of the criminal aspects connected to such developments.

The cycling lanes are expected to be fully functional by 3 June 2015.

“[The long-term plan is to] try and connect Westdene, Sophiatown and Westbury into the network,” said Genu.

Although he said the plan was initiated by the universities, Ward 69 councillor Katja Naumann said that isn’t the case.

“The Cycle lanes project was initiated by Ms Lisa Seftel of the Johannesburg Roads Agency with Scandinavian support and not, as was recently reported, by UJ and Wits,” Naumann revealed.

UJ’s media liaison Herman Esterhuizen confirmed the institution didn’t initiate the project, but was approached by the agency.

“We raised concerns that there was no culture of students riding bicycles to school, but if the students do use the lanes, there might be a safety concern,” he said.

UJ is currently working on an impact study on how the cycle lanes will affect the university’s infrastructure. Things like providing parking bays for the students who cycle,” Esterhuizen added.

Furthermore, Naumann said the pavement renewal and cycle lane project has not been communicated adequately to the public.

“Neither Region B officials, ward governance nor the Ward 69 committee were informed as to when the project would start, what exactly it would entail and how it would affect residents. We did view the plans at the end of last year, but rejected them due to the fact that we felt it was not feasible to retro-fit the lanes into some of the narrow steep streets in Auckland Park and Brixton.”

The cycle lanes are required to be at least 1m wide and the pedestrian pavements 2m minimum.

“I think that the idea of creating safe cycling areas is commendable however, forcing them onto the congested streets creates a risk for the many pedestrians and drivers alike. The suggested bollards are not a deterrent to cars and, in Jorrisen Street, these lanes have already become taxi parking bays,” Naumann added.

Genu said the project will not only be beneficial to students, but also residents who commute to and from work – or anywhere else for that matter – by bicycle.

In addition, he said the JDA’s plan is to provide job opportunities to 10 companies from the affected wards.

However, Naumann maintains, “The project is also not well managed. The contractor had promised some jobs to unemployed people who approached them directly and the opportunity which exists for SMMEs to get involved was not advertised either. Most residents only heard about the project when they received a notice in their post box that digging would commence the next day.”

What added fuel to the fire for residents was the damage caused by the excavations – damage to walls, cables were cut and left some residents without electricity as well as leaking water pipes, as reported by residents.

After a Ditton Avenue resident raised concern about increased traffic, Genu reportedly initiated a traffic volume study and would carry out speed tests.