Orange Grove residents voiced these concerns in a meeting with the Johannesburg Development Agency at Paterson Recreation Centre, regarding the soon to be introduced bus system on Louis Botha Avenue.
One elderly woman was concerned about the distance between stations, and the safety aspects for senior citizens and people with disabilities.
The agency’s senior development manager, Vuyiswa Voyi was unable to give satisfactory answers to these concerns.
“There are issues that were brought to us like accessibility and safety and we need to look at them,” she said. “But generally it was a positive response from the residents.”
The bus system’s Phase 1c will connect Johannesburg CBD with Alexandra and Sandton. Voyi said the aim was to provide safe, fast, and affordable public transport and to provide regeneration and development to the area. She said the system would be introduced in 2016 and it would use two lanes of the existing four on Louis Botha Avenue.
Danie Botha-Marais, social development officer of the National Council for Persons with Physical Disabilities in South Africa, said the bus system was not designed for people with special needs. “It’s unsafe to use in certain circumstances, some buses are too high and leave a gap between the bus and the platform,” he said. “Anyone using a wheelchair or walking device can fall or get stuck.”
Botha-Marais said the bus system’s feeder services such as taxis also needed to be improved. “Taxis are not accessible to everyone,” he said.
Voyi assured residents that all these issues would be addressed. “We will bring Universal Access Consultants on board to look at these matters including law enforcement,” she said.
