Special Olympic Lanes Cause Worry About Traffic During 2012 Olympics

Special lanes will be closed to public traffic during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Some commuters are already worried about the traffic congestion likely to pervade throughout the city during the event.

The 60 miles of lanes will be in addition to the Olympic Route Network (ORN) which will be roadwork-free and cover 2.5% of the capital's roads.

The ORN will be used by 82,000 people and cost about £25m.

The lanes will total nearly 60 miles in length, while the ORN, which will include measures such as closing side roads, banning turns and altering traffic light sequences, will comprise of more than 100 miles in London and about 170 miles outside London.

Games Lanes' for athletes at 2012 London Olympics
BBC
July 29, 2010

Joburg Officials Try to Dispel Soccer City Congestion Fears

Officials in Johannesburg are trying to allay fears that the World Cup matches in the city will be burdened with the same traffic congestion that hounded the opening of Soccer City Stadium last week.

City officials on Monday promised to fix major traffic problems that disrupted the inaugural match at the World Cup's showpiece stadium in Johannesburg, causing concern about the soccer spectacular.

The problems on Saturday caused fans to miss both the opening ceremony at Soccer City and part of an historic rugby match in Soweto's new Orlando arena.

Huge traffic jam causes World Cup worry
Reuters
May 24, 2010

Traffic Not a Problem During Cup: Gauteng Premier

Infrastructure improvements should be finishing up in Gauteng province, leading its premier to announce that traffic will not be a problem during the World Cup.

"We are confident that in the next few months, traffic on our roads will flow without the congestion and the inconvenience that is currently being encountered," [Premier Nomvula Mokonyane] said in her speech to the Foreign Correspondents' Association.

"We have been given a guarantee by the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) that key parts of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project will be completed by end of April 2010."

The R21 highway joining the OR Tambo International Airport and the cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane would be completed by the end of April, with three lanes opened in both directions, she assured the foreign media.

Traffic to ease during World Cup - Mokonyane
Independent Online
March 23, 2010

Cape Town Stadium Needs Traffic Plan Update

Traffic remains an issue at the new Cape Town stadium, where jams and congestion marred the second test event at the brand new stadium leading up to the World Cup.Officials in the City of Cape Town will meet with stadium operators Sail/Stade de France to try to update the traffic plan.

This comes after traffic ground to a halt around the Cape Town Stadium precinct on Saturday, causing thousands of spectators to miss the curtain-raiser match between the SA Legends and the International 10s.

The match was followed by the main game between the Vodacom Stormers and Boland.

Motorists with tickets for VIP parking waited up to an hour to get into the main parkade because sniffer dogs checked every vehicle entering the stadium precinct for explosives and narcotics.

Beautiful stadium ... pity about the traffic
Cape Argus
February 8, 2010

Road Work and Traffic Expected Until Late April in Cape Town

Traffic-snarling roadwork throughout Cape Town and on many of its most crucial arterials is expected to continue until late April or even early May.

Speaking at a briefing this morning ahead of Friday's World Cup final draw, [Mayor Dan] Plato appealed to Cape Town drivers to be patient and promised that the work was ahead of schedule.

...Plato said the roadworks chaos would probably end towards the end of April or early in May, when construction work at crucial points, such as the Koeberg Interchange and the integrated rapid transport lanes on Otto du Plessis Drive, should be completed.

Cape Town's traffic headache
Independent Online
December 1, 2009

Road Safety a Concern for Officials During Cup

Transportation officials are calling on locals to drive patiently when roads become crowded during the World Cup. South Africa's notoriously dangerous roads will be stressed with an influx of tourists during the Cup, and officials are trying figure out how to ensure safety.

One of the biggest concerns ahead of the event, says Ashref Ismail, national traffic enforcement co-ordinator and head of 2010 operations at the Road Traffic Management Corporation, is how locals and international visitors will get along on the roads.

He said the Road Traffic Management Corporation had consulted traffic authorities in Germany and other World Cup host cities, and was working on a strategy to deal with motorists before and after matches.

2010: Plea for more tolerance on the roads
Cape Argus
October 28, 2009

Nation Perceives Transit Progress, Cape Town Remains Skeptical

Though many parts of the country seem comfortable with South Africa's progress on updating public transit services, Cape Town residents are much more skeptical about the development. Congestion is consistently mentioned in surveys as one of the city's most pressing problems.

Since 2005, the HSRC's South African Social Attitudes survey has asked respondents aged 16 and older about their perceptions around next year's World Cup.

Last year the national Department of Transport asked for the inclusion of specific questions on road congestion and public transport services.

Since 2005, respondents in Cape Town have consistently identified congestion as a key concern. The Review article says that 82 percent of Cape Town residents agreed that roads would be "severely congested during the World Cup".

Scepticism about 2010 transport
Cape Argus
October 7, 2009

Thousands Dying on Western Cape Roads

Over the last 8 years, 12,348 people have died in car crashes on roads in the Western Cape. Officials are responding to these staggering numbers by calling for a drastic reduction of fatalities in the coming years.

The "endemic" rate of deaths on the province's roads has prompted MEC for Transport and Public Works Robin Carlisle to embark on a campaign to halve the number of fatalities on the province's roads over the next five years.

Statistics from the Road Traffic Management Corporation indicate that the Western Cape has the country's third highest rate of motor accident deaths.

KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng are the only other provinces to have recorded more fatalities in the same eight-year period.

Cape's roads of death
Cape Argus
July 6, 2009

Fuel Pipeline to Reduce Truck Traffic, But Cut Through Farms

A fuel pipeline being built between Durban and Heidelberg is hoped to reduce truck congestion on local roads, but clearing the right of way will disrupt many rural farming communities along the path of the 555km pipeline.

Durban motorists frustrated by the number of trucks on the city's roads are set for some relief, with Transnet promising that fuel tanker traffic will decrease by 60 percent.

The decrease will be felt after the completion of a R12,7-billion multi-fuel pipeline between Durban and Heidelberg in Gauteng.

However, farming communities in KwaZulu-Natal, particularly at KwaMakhuta and Umbumbulu, could have their crops damaged or be prevented from planting to accommodate construction of the 555km pipeline. Homes will not be affected and no community will be relocated.

This is according to the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report on the project. The report states that all people affected during construction, which is expected to be completed by December 2011, will be compensated.

Source:
Relief for Durban motorists
The Star
May 11, 2009

Road Deaths Highlight Challenges for Pretoria

Car crashes have brought a one-week road death toll up to 14 in Pretoria, where road dangers are proving to be a major challenge for transportation planners and officials.

A motorist was killed and 11 people injured when a taxi driver, allegedly overtaking a car outside Pretoria, crashed into two cars and another taxi before bursting into flames.

The smash brings the number of people killed on the city's roads to 14 in the past week.

Source:
Crash causes city's 14th road death in a week
Pretoria News
May 7, 2009

Schools Add More Vacation During World Cup

Winter holidays for the South African school system will be adjusted to include an extra 7 days during the 2010 World Cup. Traffic congestion and school absenteeism aer cited as the major reasons for the rule adjustment.

The winter holidays, which normally last 15 days, will now be adjusted to 22 days to accommodate the World Cup in order to avoid pupil and teacher absenteeism, as well a busy transport system during the busy period.

The 2010 Local Organising Committee, along with the Transport Department, had asked for schools to be closed, citing traffic congestion as one of the reasons.

The Education Department has ensured that there will still be 195 school days in a year, as per the prescribed policy.

Source:
Long school holiday during World Cup
Independent Online
April 18, 2009

Taxis Driving on Sidewalks in Cape Town

Traffic congestion is causing taxi drivers to make shortcuts over the sidewalk in Cape Town.

Taxis which routinely outrage other traffic by driving in the left emergency lane have gone a step further: they've started beating congestion by driving on the pavement.

In the past three weeks 25 fines have been issued to taxi drivers for driving on or over the painted island or on the pavement.

Source:
Taxis 'take over' the pavements
Independent Online
April 5, 2009