26 January 2007
2010 and all that hype!
Up front let me state that I am an ardent 2010 supporter! I have seen what such major events can do for a city and I say, bring ‘em on! I think it will be a great event for South Africa and for Jozi. The benefits to the metropole will be in realizing both new and enhanced infrastructure and the fact that the event will act as a catalyst to get projects implemented that have been stagnating on the drawing board for years. I must admit however having experienced growing concerns regarding our tardiness in preparing for the event which leaves a relatively short period to do a mountain of work and, lately on the reported cost overruns for many of the stadia.
The headline of the Business Day of 24th January screamed “Cities warn of rocketing costs of 2010 stadiums.” The body of the story states that “it emerged in public hearings of Parliament’s sport and recreation committee yesterday that most of the host cities were experiencing shortfalls due to expenditure estimates that had grown because of inflation, the exchange rate and rising input costs.” (My underlining). I don’t buy that – we have lived in an inflationary situation for years – we’ve known that the stadia are going to be built in a time of extreme shortages and an overheated construction industry – all such issues should have been allowed for. Whilst fluctuating exchange rates are almost impossible to provide for, the proportion of imported materials surely isn’t that great
According to the report, Cape Town had budgeted on R2.5 billion but the preferred bidder “had placed the cost at R3.7bn”. Durban is facing a funding gap of R600 million, Nelson Mandela of R262 million and Polokwane R300 million. AND THE CONTRACTS HAVEN”T STARTED YET! In addition, I wonder who has done the maintenance sums.
But back to Jozi - this past week the Executive Mayor is reported to have announced that the refurbishment of the impressive calabash-shell design of the FNB stadium “would be completed seven months ahead of schedule”. Evidently the contract was due to have been completed by October 2009 and now will be finished by “March the 18th”. With the contract officially due to commence on the 1st Feb 2007 that means that the contract period will be 25 and-a-half months and a contract price of R1.5 billion calls for an average monthly turnover of R60 million! That is extraordinary! That is astonishing! That is unbelievable! That’s about R85 000.00 per hour for 24 hours per day and 30 days per month. Whew! One can only assume that the structural steel framework to be built around the stadium, the roof construction and coverings and the external calabash covering is extremely quick to erect yet incredibly expensive because actually increasing seating capacity from 70 000 to 94 000 certainly can only cost a fraction of the contract price.
I wasn’t able to find out the original contract price for the FNB Stadium, but Ellis Park, built 1981/2 cost R53 million. Allowing for inflation per Statistics SA, that R53 million would be about R650 million at today’s costs. With 60 000 seats the cost per seat would be about R11 000.00. The 24 000 extra seats at Soccer City will be costing about R63 000.00 per seat! I know that I’ve done a simplistic calculation, if one adjusts for the external cladding and roof, the cost per seat will be reduced, but wow!
Cape Town’s 68 000 seats will cost a whopping R3,7 billion or R55 000.00 per seat, Durban’s fancy King Senzangakhona Stadium XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.
I looked at some reasonably recently built stadiums in the UK for comparison purposes – would probably be more pertinent to examine those built in Germany for last year’s World Cup but I couldn’t find the details. The Millenium Stadium in Cardiff cost R1 8 bn in 1999 – R2.5 bn today – with 74 500 seats - that equates to R35 000 a seat (including the cost of an elaborate sliding roof). Max Boyce, the Welsh comedian and Welsh rugby aficionado explained the sliding roof: XXXX
Wembley Stadium, billed as the most expensive stadium ever built and as yet unfinished, cost well in excess of R100 000-00 per seat. So take heart and buy the appropriate construction company shares – I think they’re set to make a bundle!
From an inner city point of view, this is probably quite academic – the FNB Stadium is of no direct benefit to us. So where will the inner city really benefit?
According to media reports “some of the legacy projects include the replacement of public utilities such as outdoor refuse bins, benches, vendor stalls, play areas, pathways and ablution facilities.” It’s not clear from the report if this would be throughout the inner city or specifically focused on the precincts around the FNB Stadium and Ellis Park. In regard to Ellis Park, most of these items were newly installed for the All-Africa games held in XXXXX. Since then, zero maintenance, has resulted in all these amenities being almost totally destroyed – I hope someone out there isn’t just allowing capital budgets to be formulated without an adequate management and maintenance allowance!
Road upgrading aro Bertrams
To me, the real benefit will be in terms of public transportation and I included an overview of what is planned two weeks ago. Briefly it will see the introduction of a R2 billon Integrated Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System providing
• Exclusive right-of-way lanes
• Rapid boarding and alighting
• Pre-board fare collection and fare verification
• Enclosed stations that are safe and comfortable
• Clear route maps. Signage and information displays
• Automatic vehicle location technology
• Modal integration at stations and terminals
• Bus operators contracted to provide the services
Integrated into the BRT will be the Inner City Distribution System (ICDS) which will provide a cheap fare interlinked series of routes that will tke you from Doornfontein to Newtwn. In addition, an international Transit & Shopping Centre is being planned for the Park Station Precinct that will provide all the necessary connections between the Gautrain Station, Park Station, Metro Mall, Jack Mincer and Noord Street Long Distance Taxi Ranking.
Already approved by the Council, construction is due to start in the latter part of this year - the buses are planned to be in service before April 2009 providing a year of testing and bedding down before the first ball is kicked off. That timetable also looks extremely tight to me.
If I was Mayor, I’d employ the best project management consulting firm in the world to check the programmes and resource projections and report progress to me on a daily basis.
Other work that is already underway is Some contracts for work on the Ellis Park precinct were awarded late last year - one for creating a 'Gateway' at the intersection of Charlton Terrace and Stiemert Road and one for upgrading both Stiemert Road and Sivewright Avenue.
Nasrec precinct work started some time back last year with new paving and lighting to Nasrec Road West opposite the Stadium; and at the end of the year contracts were awarded for the northern and southern pavements to Randshow Road as well as the construction of the Soweto Highway eastern on-and-off ramps.
Bertrams
Have a great weekend, cheers, neil
PS. Two January Walking Tours by the Parktown & Westcliff Heritage Trust:-
Saturday 20th January – “Braamfontein Cemetery” – “a grave affair – handkerchiefs and smelling salts will be de rigeur except for those whose interest in Jo’burg’s history outweighs their sense of decorum”
Meet at cemetery office inside gate in Graf Street at 2.00 pm – approx 3 hours – R50.00 for members and R70.00 for non-members – max 25
Saturday 27th January – “Parktown West Gardens & Homes” – “the tour combines architecture and horticulture with touches of history.”
Meet at the small park in Seymour Avenue, Parktown West at 2.00 pm – approx 3 hours – R50.00 for members and R70.00 for non-members – max 40.
Neil Fraser is a partner in Neil Fraser & Associates which trades as ‘Urban Inc.’ an urban consultancy dedicated to the revitalisation and regeneration of cities and of the inner city of Johannesburg in particular. He can be contacted at (083) 456 0242 or (011) 444-4895 or by e-mail at neil@urbaninc.co.za Views and opinions expressed in Citichat are not necessarily those of Urban Inc.
Citichat is a free weekly publication concerning cities generally and Johannesburg specifically. Please forward Citichat to your colleagues who may wish to be placed on the subscription list. To subscribe please contact us at info@urbaninc.co.za
Friday, January 26, 2007
2010 World Cup Citichat 26 January 2007
CITICHAT 3/2007 - 26 January 2007
2010 – rising cost and ever decreasing time!
Up front let me state that I am an ardent 2010 supporter! I have seen what such major events can do for a city and I say, bring ‘em on! I think it will be a great event for South Africa and for Jozi. The benefits to the metropole will be in realizing both new and enhanced infrastructure and the fact that the event will act as a catalyst to get new projects implemented plus those that have been languishing on the drawing board for years. I must admit, however, at experiencing growing concerns regarding our tardiness in preparing for the event leaving a relatively short period to do a mountain of work and, lately on the reported cost overruns for many of the stadia.
For example, the headline of the Business Day of 24th January trumpeted “Cities warn of rocketing costs of 2010 stadiums.” The body of the story states that “it emerged in public hearings of Parliament’s sport and recreation committee yesterday that most of the host cities were experiencing shortfalls due to expenditure estimates that had grown because of inflation, the exchange rate and rising input costs.” (My underlining). I don’t buy that – when the estimates were prepared they must have known that the projects wouldn’t start before the beginning of this year and the end date was certainly known – any estimator worth his or her salt would have made a reasonable provision for all these aspects. We have lived in an inflationary environment for years – we’ve known that the stadia are going to be built in a time of extreme shortages and an overheated construction industry – all such issues could and should have been provided for. Whilst fluctuating exchange rates are impossible to forsee, the proportion of imported materials surely isn’t that great.
According to the report, Cape Town had budgeted on R2.5 billion but the preferred bidder “had placed the cost at R3.7bn”. Durban is facing a funding gap of R600 million, Nelson Mandela of R262 million and Polokwane R300 million. AND THE CONTRACTS HAVEN”T STARTED YET!
We of course have chosen to forget that the total originally budgeted for all stadiums, new and upgraded, on which we won the bid, was only R2 billion. Now, before construction starts, it’s R9 billion which looks as though it is far short of what the eventual costs will be. Admittedly, the real long-term benefit to the country will be that soccer facilities, historically sub-par as a result of apartheid and always the poor relation to other sports, will now be as good as anything the rest of the world has to offer. However, I wonder who has done the maintenance sums? We always seem to find it easier to splurge capital than make allowance for adequate ongoing upkeep.
But back to Jozi - this past week the Executive Mayor is reported to have announced that the refurbishment of the impressive calabash-shell design of the FNB stadium “would be completed seven months ahead of schedule”. Optimism, realism or hope? Evidently the contract was due to have been completed by October 2009 and now will be finished by “March the 18th”. Precise time estimation that! With the contract officially due to commence on the 1st Feb 2007 that means that the contract period will be 25-and-a-half months. The contract price of R1.5 billion calls for an average monthly turnover of R60 million! That is extraordinary! That is astonishing! That is unbelievable! That’s about R85 000.00 per hour to be spent every hour of a 24 hour day and every day of a 30 day month for two-and-a-bit years! Whew! One can only assume that the structural steel framework to be built around the stadium, its ‘calabash’ covering and the roof construction and covering are all extremely quick to erect yet incredibly expensive.
The R9 billion allocated for stadia will mean a monthly turnover of in excess of R300 million a month to be completed by 2009 – at the same time billions of rand of expenditure will be poured into transportation and other infrastructure and none of this takes into account construction costs of Gautrain – looks like a good time to buy Construction sector shares!
I wasn’t able to find out the original contract price of the FNB Stadium, but Ellis Park, built 1981/2 cost R53 million. Allowing for inflation (per Statistics SA figures) that R53 million would be about R650 million at today’s costs. With
60 000 seats, the cost per seat would be about R11 000.00. The 24 000 extra seats at Soccer City will be costing about R63 000.00 per seat! I know that I’ve done a simplistic calculation, if one adjusts for the external cladding and roof, the cost per seat will be substantially reduced, but I doubt by six times!
Cape Town’s 68 000 seats will cost a whopping R3,7 billion but ‘only’ R55 000.00 per seat, Durban’s fancy King Senzangakhona Stadium will provide 70 000 seats, the original estimate was R1,6 billion now looking at R2,2 billion which will mean about R32 000.00 per seat.
I looked at some reasonably recently built stadiums in the UK for comparison purposes – would have been more pertinent to examine those built in Germany for last year’s World Cup but I couldn’t find the data. The Millenium Stadium in Cardiff cost R1,8 billion in 1999 – that would be R2.5 billion today based on our inflation figures– with 74 500 seats that equates to R35 000 a seat which including the cost of an elaborate sliding roof. Max Boyce, the Welsh comedian and Welsh rugby aficionado explains the reason for their sliding roof:
They say it has a sliding roof,
That they can slide all day.
We’ll slide it back when Wales attack,
So God can watch us play!
Wembley Stadium, billed as the most expensive stadium ever built and as yet unfinished, was a fixed price contract of 757 million pounds sterling which equates to a cost of nearly R120 000-00 per seat. They broke ground in 2002 and it was due for completion in autumn 2005 - then the end of January 2006, then March 2006 and now the gates will open for the first event on the 3rd March 2007. Clearly the Brits need South African contractors rather than the Australian company, Multiplex, that they awarded the contract to.
From an inner city point of view, this is probably quite academic – Soccer City is of no direct benefit to us. So where will the inner city really benefit and where are we in regard to progress?
According to media reports “some of the legacy projects include the replacement of public utilities such as outdoor refuse bins, benches, vendor stalls, play areas, pathways and ablution facilities.” It’s not clear from the report if this would be throughout the inner city or specifically focused on the precincts around Soccer City and Ellis Park. In regard to Ellis Park, most of these items were newly installed for the All-Africa games held in September 1999. Since then, zero maintenance (which we clearly prefer to zero tolerance) has resulted in all these amenities being almost totally destroyed – again I hope someone out there isn’t just allowing capital budgets to be formulated without an adequate management and maintenance allowance this time around!
Apart from work that has been in progress for some time in Nasrec around Soccer City, physical work on the Ellis Park precinct has already started through contracts awarded late last year for the creation of a 'Gateway' into the precinct at the intersection of Charlton Terrace and Stiemert Road and another for the upgrading of both Stiemert Road and Sivewright Avenue. So those aspects appear to be well ahead of programme.
Last evening’s Star reported on the sparkling mosaic work that is underway on the columns supporting the overhead highway in Saratoga Avenue near Ellis Park. Overhead highways are always oppressive for those who pass below them and, with this being one of the gateways to Ellis Park, what a great idea it is to use artwork to lighten up the scene.
A huge amount of investigation has been done in regard to upgrading the Greater Ellis Park area particularly related to the problem of slum conditions in places like Bertrams and Doornfontein but no definitive direction or approach has yet emerged.
To me, the real benefit for the Inner City will flow from the proposed public transportation initiative. I included an overview of what is planned two weeks ago in Citichat 1/2007. Briefly, it will see the introduction of a R2 billon integrated Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System providing
• Exclusive right-of-way lanes
• Rapid boarding and alighting
• Pre-board fare collection and fare verification
• Enclosed stations that are safe and comfortable
• Clear route maps. Signage and information displays
• Automatic vehicle location technology
• Modal integration at stations and terminals
• Bus operators contracted to provide the services
Integrated into the BRT will be the Inner City Distribution System (ICDS) which will provide a cheap fare for an interlinked series of routes that will take you from the Ellis Park precinct to Newtown as well as north/south connections. In addition, an international Transit & Shopping Centre is being planned for the Park Station Precinct that will provide all the necessary connections between the Gautrain Station, Park Station, Metro Mall, Jack Mincer and Noord Street Long Distance Taxi Ranking.
Already approved by the Council, construction is due to start in the latter part of this year - the buses are planned to be in service before April 2009 providing a year of testing and bedding down before the first ball is kicked off. That timetable looks extremely tight to me.
If I was Mayor, I’d employ the best project management consulting firm in the world to check every 2010 construction programme and resource projection for every project and have them report progress to me on a daily basis. Rather like Rudi Guilliani who had daily crime incidents reported to him during his crime zero-tolerance programme. Mmm, maybe that’s not a bad idea either!
To end on a light note – the www.southafrica.info/2010/ records the most frequently asked questions regarding 2010:-
Where is South Africa?
What’s the beer like?
Are there lions in the streets?
Should be great fun, cheers, neil
2010 – rising cost and ever decreasing time!
Up front let me state that I am an ardent 2010 supporter! I have seen what such major events can do for a city and I say, bring ‘em on! I think it will be a great event for South Africa and for Jozi. The benefits to the metropole will be in realizing both new and enhanced infrastructure and the fact that the event will act as a catalyst to get new projects implemented plus those that have been languishing on the drawing board for years. I must admit, however, at experiencing growing concerns regarding our tardiness in preparing for the event leaving a relatively short period to do a mountain of work and, lately on the reported cost overruns for many of the stadia.
For example, the headline of the Business Day of 24th January trumpeted “Cities warn of rocketing costs of 2010 stadiums.” The body of the story states that “it emerged in public hearings of Parliament’s sport and recreation committee yesterday that most of the host cities were experiencing shortfalls due to expenditure estimates that had grown because of inflation, the exchange rate and rising input costs.” (My underlining). I don’t buy that – when the estimates were prepared they must have known that the projects wouldn’t start before the beginning of this year and the end date was certainly known – any estimator worth his or her salt would have made a reasonable provision for all these aspects. We have lived in an inflationary environment for years – we’ve known that the stadia are going to be built in a time of extreme shortages and an overheated construction industry – all such issues could and should have been provided for. Whilst fluctuating exchange rates are impossible to forsee, the proportion of imported materials surely isn’t that great.
According to the report, Cape Town had budgeted on R2.5 billion but the preferred bidder “had placed the cost at R3.7bn”. Durban is facing a funding gap of R600 million, Nelson Mandela of R262 million and Polokwane R300 million. AND THE CONTRACTS HAVEN”T STARTED YET!
We of course have chosen to forget that the total originally budgeted for all stadiums, new and upgraded, on which we won the bid, was only R2 billion. Now, before construction starts, it’s R9 billion which looks as though it is far short of what the eventual costs will be. Admittedly, the real long-term benefit to the country will be that soccer facilities, historically sub-par as a result of apartheid and always the poor relation to other sports, will now be as good as anything the rest of the world has to offer. However, I wonder who has done the maintenance sums? We always seem to find it easier to splurge capital than make allowance for adequate ongoing upkeep.
But back to Jozi - this past week the Executive Mayor is reported to have announced that the refurbishment of the impressive calabash-shell design of the FNB stadium “would be completed seven months ahead of schedule”. Optimism, realism or hope? Evidently the contract was due to have been completed by October 2009 and now will be finished by “March the 18th”. Precise time estimation that! With the contract officially due to commence on the 1st Feb 2007 that means that the contract period will be 25-and-a-half months. The contract price of R1.5 billion calls for an average monthly turnover of R60 million! That is extraordinary! That is astonishing! That is unbelievable! That’s about R85 000.00 per hour to be spent every hour of a 24 hour day and every day of a 30 day month for two-and-a-bit years! Whew! One can only assume that the structural steel framework to be built around the stadium, its ‘calabash’ covering and the roof construction and covering are all extremely quick to erect yet incredibly expensive.
The R9 billion allocated for stadia will mean a monthly turnover of in excess of R300 million a month to be completed by 2009 – at the same time billions of rand of expenditure will be poured into transportation and other infrastructure and none of this takes into account construction costs of Gautrain – looks like a good time to buy Construction sector shares!
I wasn’t able to find out the original contract price of the FNB Stadium, but Ellis Park, built 1981/2 cost R53 million. Allowing for inflation (per Statistics SA figures) that R53 million would be about R650 million at today’s costs. With
60 000 seats, the cost per seat would be about R11 000.00. The 24 000 extra seats at Soccer City will be costing about R63 000.00 per seat! I know that I’ve done a simplistic calculation, if one adjusts for the external cladding and roof, the cost per seat will be substantially reduced, but I doubt by six times!
Cape Town’s 68 000 seats will cost a whopping R3,7 billion but ‘only’ R55 000.00 per seat, Durban’s fancy King Senzangakhona Stadium will provide 70 000 seats, the original estimate was R1,6 billion now looking at R2,2 billion which will mean about R32 000.00 per seat.
I looked at some reasonably recently built stadiums in the UK for comparison purposes – would have been more pertinent to examine those built in Germany for last year’s World Cup but I couldn’t find the data. The Millenium Stadium in Cardiff cost R1,8 billion in 1999 – that would be R2.5 billion today based on our inflation figures– with 74 500 seats that equates to R35 000 a seat which including the cost of an elaborate sliding roof. Max Boyce, the Welsh comedian and Welsh rugby aficionado explains the reason for their sliding roof:
They say it has a sliding roof,
That they can slide all day.
We’ll slide it back when Wales attack,
So God can watch us play!
Wembley Stadium, billed as the most expensive stadium ever built and as yet unfinished, was a fixed price contract of 757 million pounds sterling which equates to a cost of nearly R120 000-00 per seat. They broke ground in 2002 and it was due for completion in autumn 2005 - then the end of January 2006, then March 2006 and now the gates will open for the first event on the 3rd March 2007. Clearly the Brits need South African contractors rather than the Australian company, Multiplex, that they awarded the contract to.
From an inner city point of view, this is probably quite academic – Soccer City is of no direct benefit to us. So where will the inner city really benefit and where are we in regard to progress?
According to media reports “some of the legacy projects include the replacement of public utilities such as outdoor refuse bins, benches, vendor stalls, play areas, pathways and ablution facilities.” It’s not clear from the report if this would be throughout the inner city or specifically focused on the precincts around Soccer City and Ellis Park. In regard to Ellis Park, most of these items were newly installed for the All-Africa games held in September 1999. Since then, zero maintenance (which we clearly prefer to zero tolerance) has resulted in all these amenities being almost totally destroyed – again I hope someone out there isn’t just allowing capital budgets to be formulated without an adequate management and maintenance allowance this time around!
Apart from work that has been in progress for some time in Nasrec around Soccer City, physical work on the Ellis Park precinct has already started through contracts awarded late last year for the creation of a 'Gateway' into the precinct at the intersection of Charlton Terrace and Stiemert Road and another for the upgrading of both Stiemert Road and Sivewright Avenue. So those aspects appear to be well ahead of programme.
Last evening’s Star reported on the sparkling mosaic work that is underway on the columns supporting the overhead highway in Saratoga Avenue near Ellis Park. Overhead highways are always oppressive for those who pass below them and, with this being one of the gateways to Ellis Park, what a great idea it is to use artwork to lighten up the scene.
A huge amount of investigation has been done in regard to upgrading the Greater Ellis Park area particularly related to the problem of slum conditions in places like Bertrams and Doornfontein but no definitive direction or approach has yet emerged.
To me, the real benefit for the Inner City will flow from the proposed public transportation initiative. I included an overview of what is planned two weeks ago in Citichat 1/2007. Briefly, it will see the introduction of a R2 billon integrated Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System providing
• Exclusive right-of-way lanes
• Rapid boarding and alighting
• Pre-board fare collection and fare verification
• Enclosed stations that are safe and comfortable
• Clear route maps. Signage and information displays
• Automatic vehicle location technology
• Modal integration at stations and terminals
• Bus operators contracted to provide the services
Integrated into the BRT will be the Inner City Distribution System (ICDS) which will provide a cheap fare for an interlinked series of routes that will take you from the Ellis Park precinct to Newtown as well as north/south connections. In addition, an international Transit & Shopping Centre is being planned for the Park Station Precinct that will provide all the necessary connections between the Gautrain Station, Park Station, Metro Mall, Jack Mincer and Noord Street Long Distance Taxi Ranking.
Already approved by the Council, construction is due to start in the latter part of this year - the buses are planned to be in service before April 2009 providing a year of testing and bedding down before the first ball is kicked off. That timetable looks extremely tight to me.
If I was Mayor, I’d employ the best project management consulting firm in the world to check every 2010 construction programme and resource projection for every project and have them report progress to me on a daily basis. Rather like Rudi Guilliani who had daily crime incidents reported to him during his crime zero-tolerance programme. Mmm, maybe that’s not a bad idea either!
To end on a light note – the www.southafrica.info/2010/ records the most frequently asked questions regarding 2010:-
Where is South Africa?
What’s the beer like?
Are there lions in the streets?
Should be great fun, cheers, neil
Friday, January 19, 2007
Urban Space Citichat 19 January 2007
CITICHAT 2/2007 - 19 January 2007
Bit of a change of pace this week – this is an article that my business partner, Katherine Cox, and I wrote for ‘Built’ magazine.
SPACE FOR OUR URBAN SOULS
What attracts people most, it would appear, is other people…(William H Whyte)
In the future, livable communities will be the basis for our competitiveness and economic strength. Our efforts to make communities more livable today must emphasize the right kind of growth--sustainable growth. Promoting a better quality of life for our families need never come at the expense of economic growth. Indeed, in the 21st century it can and must be an engine for economic growth. (Al Gore)
There is a global renaissance in urban parks and public spaces. Cities around the world are creating parks as focal points for economic development and neighborhood renewal. Cities have passionately embarked on major tree planting projects, imploded buildings to create green lungs, upgraded roads to leafy streets oriented towards pedestrians and cyclists. Easy access to parks and open space and connecting these green lungs has become a new measure of city wealth - an important way to attract businesses and residents by guaranteeing both quality of life and economic health.
In Paris, under Mayor Bertrand Delanoe’s lead, it seems that urban citizens will commandeer any underdeveloped space they can find such as balconies, derelict railway sidings, hard building facades even defunct parking garages in order to transform them into green public space; parks and gardens,. “They will sacrifice broad boulevards for the sake of bike paths with leafy canopies. They will argue for community gardens over apartments, relinquish a busy city expressway along the Seine for a temporary beach park, will see in every shabby lot a cathedral of green…..build community gardens on vacant lots, however small.” (J Ackerman, National Geographic, Oct 2006) Delanoe has pledged to find and develop 75 acres within the City for new parks and green public spaces. This will be achieved through creative re-use of odd city spaces as well as support for 40 small community gardens on previously vacant lots.
We may consider it astounding that Parisians can afford the ‘luxury’ of such urban wonder. Surely they too have stretched budgets, yet they can find that little more for green space! But, isn’t it time that we too broadened our ‘development’ horizons to accept that parks and gardens, green streets and in fact green infrastructure are no luxury? They are in fact essential and achievable. Skeptics may well point out that we have too many other priorities - rapid urbanization, glaring poverty, crime and housing shortages. Yet there are great examples too in the developing world. In the face similar problems to our own, in three years, former Mayor of Bogota, Enrique Penalosa established and refurbished 1200 parks and planted over 100 000 trees!
TANGIBLE BENEFITS AND VALUE
There are some very real and tangible reasons to invest in urban open spaces. Over the past few years, internationally the value of parks and open green space, has become increasingly measured in terms of social, environmental, economic, mental and physical health. Despite this, there is a significant lack of response from our local government, an ignoring of the necessity of these aspects in our city. The list below represents a brief summary of some of the most tangible and measurable values derived from quality public space in the urban environment:
Environmental value:
Vegetation filters pollution and absorbs noise, radically reduces carbon monoxide and other harmful car emissions, as well as the effects of urban heat islands, reducing temperatures by 5 – 10 degrees, an all important phenomenon under the looming fear of global warming.
Social value:
It is a proven fact internationally, that the occupants of public housing surrounded by vegetation and trees show higher levels of community, social cohesion and reduced stress compared with occupants of buildings surrounded by concrete and tar. The same people also display less aggression, are calmer, generally happier, and do not abuse their built environment through vandalism, graffiti and littering. Studies show that incidences of violent crime have been halved when buildings are planted with trees, grass and gardens. The Urban Institute lists the contributions which green space makes towards the cohesiveness of communities, including youth development, social capital, improvement in health and cognitive function, reduced symptoms of ADD, a greater ability to overcome depression and stress as well as reduced blood pressure and anxiety levels.
Economic value:
Accumulating evidence indicates that open space conservation is not an expense but an investment that produces important economic benefits. Open space is good for the city’s bottom line. Green spaces in cities generally require relatively minor public investment yet show significant returns. There is a tangible link between property values and their proximity to green space and urban forested areas, a connection between urban parks and neighbourhood quality. In the US, Community Development Corporations now invest in managed open space programmes, an area of development that is rapidly growing. The success of Bryant Park is but one example. This badly designed and maintained area behind the New York City Library became a centre for criminal activity and negatively impacted on the adjacent commercial activity. Handed over to the private sector some years ago it was completely redesigned and rebuilt and, today utilizing private sector management through a Business Improvement District, is has become one of New York’s best loved and used public spaces. And the value of surrounding property has skyrocketed! But going even further back, As early as the 1850s, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted justified the purchase of land for New York's Central Park by noting that the rising value of adjacent property would produce enough in taxes to ultimately pay for the park. By 1873, the park--which until then had cost approximately $14 million--was responsible for an extra $5.24 million in taxes each year. Property journals and the internet are literally awash with examples of increasing returns on property development and higher rentals achieved near well managed green space.
Higher property values mean higher rates and taxes which results in increased wealth for the city. BUT public open space must be well maintained and secure.
Quality of life:
The most successful higher-density neighborhoods in cities across the world -those most attractive to upwardly mobile homebuyers--offer easy access to parks, playgrounds, trails, greenways and natural open space. Again, research shows that the major elements crucial for a satisfactory quality of life are low crime, safe streets and access to greenery and open space. This is largely because green spaces offer welcoming places for people to gather, to chill, to escape momentarily from crowded busy cities. These spaces allow people to play and give people a reason to get outdoors, exercise and stay healthy. Cities need to attract people. If people want to live in a place, economic development and the necessary infrastructure will follow. Companies, indeed huge corporates such as Boeing, chose to relocate to cities with significant green spaces as their employees and those employees which they wish to attract, are used to living in urban environments with a high quality of life, walkability and easy access to outdoor recreation.
Policy and Legislation:
Cities are using Policy to protect and encourage the growth of Urban Green. An Urban Forestry Resolution was passed by the US in 2003, to preserve existing and promote the growth of new forests. 50 Global Cities signed a Green Cities Declaration at the World Environment Day held in San Francisco in 2005, one of the purposes of which was to ensure that by 2015, an accessible public park or open space is located within a third of a mile of every urban citizen. Joburg appears to be spot on in terms of policy , the protection and replanting of Jozi’s Urban Forest is paid significant attention in the new Growth and Development Strategy. However the relevant departments do not appear to be paying any heed to their Policy or the City Fathers are not providing the necessary budget.
Trees:
Trees are major capital assets in cities across the world. Just as streets, sidewalks, public buildings and recreational facilities are a part of a community's public infrastructure, so are trees. Aside from the obvious aesthetic benefits, trees within our urban forest improve our air by removing pollutants, providing carbon sequestration, protecting our water (even precipitating urban rainfall), saving energy, and improving economic sustainability and even traffic safety. The scope and condition of a city's trees and, collectively, its urban forest, is usually the first impression a city projects to its visitors. A community's urban forest is an extension of its pride and community spirit in the following ways:
Trees enhance community economic stability by attracting businesses and tourists.
People linger and shop longer along tree-lined streets.
Apartments and offices in wooded areas rent more quickly and have higher occupancy rates.
Businesses leasing office spaces in developments with trees find their workers are more productive and absenteeism is reduced
Property values increase 5-30% (Urban Institute) when compared to properties without trees
The recent addition of 100 new trees at Zoo Lake is a start in the right direction as is the project to plant around 7000 trees in Soweto as part of the City Parks planting programme.
JOZI AND SHADES OF GREEN
Let’s face it Joburg offers very few examples of Great Public Space. Mostly this aspect of urbanness is to be found in individual, separated instances. Sculptures and night skies at Mary Fitzgerald Square, Trinity Session’s funky trees in Braamfontein, indeed, Braamfontein’s newly upgraded streetscapes and the Civic Park and piazza (donated by the private sector!), the abundance of public art at Constitution Hill, creative and symbolic landscaping and green installation at the Apartheid Museum, Hector Pieterson Memorial and Wits’ new Origins Centre, the Anglo American Main Street precinct (a great example of what can be accomplished over just two city blocks) the streetscaping and artefact installations along Main Street and in Eagle Square, innovative water features and planting surrounding the new UJ gallery and theatre. Much of the above, though public space, was funded by the private sector. In the realm of private space a huge bouquet must go to the MTN building in Jozi where they recycle grey water and are on their way to being energy efficient as well as currently planting 600 indigenous trees on site!
We observe that there are hardly any commercial buildings of note which are not set in significantly landscaped surrounds. If the private sector recognizes the value of green surrounds, why is the public sector so reluctant to follow this example by creating similar investments in our cities? Why do we not have any public space or public urban life worth speaking of in Jozi? Sure, our legacy of apartheid planning to an extent still dictates the kinds of public life and urban space taking shape today.
We are the first to admit that we must work with what we have as well as creating wonderful urban newness. We need to put the joy and wonder back into urban living! To do this, those involved in city development must go beyond the traditional view of parks and public space, that of providing poorly managed open areas for recreational facilities and programmes. We must get away from our narrow perception of streets as conduits for cars, a bleak scattering of parks as our only public spaces.
Lets genuinely start creating streets and public transport as ‘place’. The Street is the River of Life of the City,…. (W H Whyte) "If you plan cities for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic. If you plan for people and places, you get people and places." (Fred Kent, Making Places, June 2005) This may seem too simplistic and obvious but it is just that! We need to make conscious, deliberate choices about designing streets, green infrastructure and city spaces for people. Barcelona has built boulevards or ramblas which give pedestrians priority over cars. London and Rome charge congestion fees for vehicles entering the city center, successfully reducing traffic levels and funding an aggressive program to improve transit. Bogotá now boasts a world-class rapid bus transit system and has established a mandate to eliminate private auto use during the morning rush hour by 2015. Portland, Oregon not only has one of the best public transit systems in the US, but thousands of acres of parks and open space. Vancouver with over 200 parks and 30kms of waterfront walkways/bikeways, has been consistently voted as one of the world’s most livable cities.
And then there are tot-lot parks, small alley-ways and spaces between buildings, intersections, vacant backyards, rooftops, balconies, cemeteries, surplus land, derelict parks …. These can all be transformed into vibrant green spaces for public use, for kids’ playtime and adventuring. All these places are vital because they bring identity to a community, give it focus, and can, in fact, be part of its rebirth.
"We all need to see other people. We need to see green. Wealthy people can do that at clubs and private facilities. But most people can only do it in public squares, parks, libraries, sidewalks, greenways, public transit….The least a democratic society should do is offer people wonderful public spaces” (Penalosa) Penalosa views cities as being planned for a purpose - to create human well-being. “Public spaces are not a frivolity. They are just as important as hospitals and schools. They create a sense of belonging. This creates a different type of society-a society where people of all income levels meet in public space is a more integrated, socially healthier one."
FUTURE JOZI, A CREATIVE ALTERNATIVE
We’re lucky – we have space! We already have an urban forest although it is constantly under threat as the Planning Department continues to approve cluster developments in Johannesburg’s treed neighbourhoods. But we lack access to open space, parks and publicness in our city. Both low and upper income areas are desperately short of quality public space. In Johannesburg, we are in a position to create a future where the greatest priority is given to pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport. When this happens, the street itself can then fulfill the critical "town square" function that we are missing.
We started this article with a quote from Al Gore, with whom we would argue, that liveable communities and cities with quality of life ARE the basis of competitiveness and economic strength NOW, as well as in the future. Given this, South African cities are for the most part, lacking, indeed lagging WAY behind. Now is the time to invest heavily in “greenfrastructure” !
Have a great weekend, cheers, neil
Bit of a change of pace this week – this is an article that my business partner, Katherine Cox, and I wrote for ‘Built’ magazine.
SPACE FOR OUR URBAN SOULS
What attracts people most, it would appear, is other people…(William H Whyte)
In the future, livable communities will be the basis for our competitiveness and economic strength. Our efforts to make communities more livable today must emphasize the right kind of growth--sustainable growth. Promoting a better quality of life for our families need never come at the expense of economic growth. Indeed, in the 21st century it can and must be an engine for economic growth. (Al Gore)
There is a global renaissance in urban parks and public spaces. Cities around the world are creating parks as focal points for economic development and neighborhood renewal. Cities have passionately embarked on major tree planting projects, imploded buildings to create green lungs, upgraded roads to leafy streets oriented towards pedestrians and cyclists. Easy access to parks and open space and connecting these green lungs has become a new measure of city wealth - an important way to attract businesses and residents by guaranteeing both quality of life and economic health.
In Paris, under Mayor Bertrand Delanoe’s lead, it seems that urban citizens will commandeer any underdeveloped space they can find such as balconies, derelict railway sidings, hard building facades even defunct parking garages in order to transform them into green public space; parks and gardens,. “They will sacrifice broad boulevards for the sake of bike paths with leafy canopies. They will argue for community gardens over apartments, relinquish a busy city expressway along the Seine for a temporary beach park, will see in every shabby lot a cathedral of green…..build community gardens on vacant lots, however small.” (J Ackerman, National Geographic, Oct 2006) Delanoe has pledged to find and develop 75 acres within the City for new parks and green public spaces. This will be achieved through creative re-use of odd city spaces as well as support for 40 small community gardens on previously vacant lots.
We may consider it astounding that Parisians can afford the ‘luxury’ of such urban wonder. Surely they too have stretched budgets, yet they can find that little more for green space! But, isn’t it time that we too broadened our ‘development’ horizons to accept that parks and gardens, green streets and in fact green infrastructure are no luxury? They are in fact essential and achievable. Skeptics may well point out that we have too many other priorities - rapid urbanization, glaring poverty, crime and housing shortages. Yet there are great examples too in the developing world. In the face similar problems to our own, in three years, former Mayor of Bogota, Enrique Penalosa established and refurbished 1200 parks and planted over 100 000 trees!
TANGIBLE BENEFITS AND VALUE
There are some very real and tangible reasons to invest in urban open spaces. Over the past few years, internationally the value of parks and open green space, has become increasingly measured in terms of social, environmental, economic, mental and physical health. Despite this, there is a significant lack of response from our local government, an ignoring of the necessity of these aspects in our city. The list below represents a brief summary of some of the most tangible and measurable values derived from quality public space in the urban environment:
Environmental value:
Vegetation filters pollution and absorbs noise, radically reduces carbon monoxide and other harmful car emissions, as well as the effects of urban heat islands, reducing temperatures by 5 – 10 degrees, an all important phenomenon under the looming fear of global warming.
Social value:
It is a proven fact internationally, that the occupants of public housing surrounded by vegetation and trees show higher levels of community, social cohesion and reduced stress compared with occupants of buildings surrounded by concrete and tar. The same people also display less aggression, are calmer, generally happier, and do not abuse their built environment through vandalism, graffiti and littering. Studies show that incidences of violent crime have been halved when buildings are planted with trees, grass and gardens. The Urban Institute lists the contributions which green space makes towards the cohesiveness of communities, including youth development, social capital, improvement in health and cognitive function, reduced symptoms of ADD, a greater ability to overcome depression and stress as well as reduced blood pressure and anxiety levels.
Economic value:
Accumulating evidence indicates that open space conservation is not an expense but an investment that produces important economic benefits. Open space is good for the city’s bottom line. Green spaces in cities generally require relatively minor public investment yet show significant returns. There is a tangible link between property values and their proximity to green space and urban forested areas, a connection between urban parks and neighbourhood quality. In the US, Community Development Corporations now invest in managed open space programmes, an area of development that is rapidly growing. The success of Bryant Park is but one example. This badly designed and maintained area behind the New York City Library became a centre for criminal activity and negatively impacted on the adjacent commercial activity. Handed over to the private sector some years ago it was completely redesigned and rebuilt and, today utilizing private sector management through a Business Improvement District, is has become one of New York’s best loved and used public spaces. And the value of surrounding property has skyrocketed! But going even further back, As early as the 1850s, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted justified the purchase of land for New York's Central Park by noting that the rising value of adjacent property would produce enough in taxes to ultimately pay for the park. By 1873, the park--which until then had cost approximately $14 million--was responsible for an extra $5.24 million in taxes each year. Property journals and the internet are literally awash with examples of increasing returns on property development and higher rentals achieved near well managed green space.
Higher property values mean higher rates and taxes which results in increased wealth for the city. BUT public open space must be well maintained and secure.
Quality of life:
The most successful higher-density neighborhoods in cities across the world -those most attractive to upwardly mobile homebuyers--offer easy access to parks, playgrounds, trails, greenways and natural open space. Again, research shows that the major elements crucial for a satisfactory quality of life are low crime, safe streets and access to greenery and open space. This is largely because green spaces offer welcoming places for people to gather, to chill, to escape momentarily from crowded busy cities. These spaces allow people to play and give people a reason to get outdoors, exercise and stay healthy. Cities need to attract people. If people want to live in a place, economic development and the necessary infrastructure will follow. Companies, indeed huge corporates such as Boeing, chose to relocate to cities with significant green spaces as their employees and those employees which they wish to attract, are used to living in urban environments with a high quality of life, walkability and easy access to outdoor recreation.
Policy and Legislation:
Cities are using Policy to protect and encourage the growth of Urban Green. An Urban Forestry Resolution was passed by the US in 2003, to preserve existing and promote the growth of new forests. 50 Global Cities signed a Green Cities Declaration at the World Environment Day held in San Francisco in 2005, one of the purposes of which was to ensure that by 2015, an accessible public park or open space is located within a third of a mile of every urban citizen. Joburg appears to be spot on in terms of policy , the protection and replanting of Jozi’s Urban Forest is paid significant attention in the new Growth and Development Strategy. However the relevant departments do not appear to be paying any heed to their Policy or the City Fathers are not providing the necessary budget.
Trees:
Trees are major capital assets in cities across the world. Just as streets, sidewalks, public buildings and recreational facilities are a part of a community's public infrastructure, so are trees. Aside from the obvious aesthetic benefits, trees within our urban forest improve our air by removing pollutants, providing carbon sequestration, protecting our water (even precipitating urban rainfall), saving energy, and improving economic sustainability and even traffic safety. The scope and condition of a city's trees and, collectively, its urban forest, is usually the first impression a city projects to its visitors. A community's urban forest is an extension of its pride and community spirit in the following ways:
Trees enhance community economic stability by attracting businesses and tourists.
People linger and shop longer along tree-lined streets.
Apartments and offices in wooded areas rent more quickly and have higher occupancy rates.
Businesses leasing office spaces in developments with trees find their workers are more productive and absenteeism is reduced
Property values increase 5-30% (Urban Institute) when compared to properties without trees
The recent addition of 100 new trees at Zoo Lake is a start in the right direction as is the project to plant around 7000 trees in Soweto as part of the City Parks planting programme.
JOZI AND SHADES OF GREEN
Let’s face it Joburg offers very few examples of Great Public Space. Mostly this aspect of urbanness is to be found in individual, separated instances. Sculptures and night skies at Mary Fitzgerald Square, Trinity Session’s funky trees in Braamfontein, indeed, Braamfontein’s newly upgraded streetscapes and the Civic Park and piazza (donated by the private sector!), the abundance of public art at Constitution Hill, creative and symbolic landscaping and green installation at the Apartheid Museum, Hector Pieterson Memorial and Wits’ new Origins Centre, the Anglo American Main Street precinct (a great example of what can be accomplished over just two city blocks) the streetscaping and artefact installations along Main Street and in Eagle Square, innovative water features and planting surrounding the new UJ gallery and theatre. Much of the above, though public space, was funded by the private sector. In the realm of private space a huge bouquet must go to the MTN building in Jozi where they recycle grey water and are on their way to being energy efficient as well as currently planting 600 indigenous trees on site!
We observe that there are hardly any commercial buildings of note which are not set in significantly landscaped surrounds. If the private sector recognizes the value of green surrounds, why is the public sector so reluctant to follow this example by creating similar investments in our cities? Why do we not have any public space or public urban life worth speaking of in Jozi? Sure, our legacy of apartheid planning to an extent still dictates the kinds of public life and urban space taking shape today.
We are the first to admit that we must work with what we have as well as creating wonderful urban newness. We need to put the joy and wonder back into urban living! To do this, those involved in city development must go beyond the traditional view of parks and public space, that of providing poorly managed open areas for recreational facilities and programmes. We must get away from our narrow perception of streets as conduits for cars, a bleak scattering of parks as our only public spaces.
Lets genuinely start creating streets and public transport as ‘place’. The Street is the River of Life of the City,…. (W H Whyte) "If you plan cities for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic. If you plan for people and places, you get people and places." (Fred Kent, Making Places, June 2005) This may seem too simplistic and obvious but it is just that! We need to make conscious, deliberate choices about designing streets, green infrastructure and city spaces for people. Barcelona has built boulevards or ramblas which give pedestrians priority over cars. London and Rome charge congestion fees for vehicles entering the city center, successfully reducing traffic levels and funding an aggressive program to improve transit. Bogotá now boasts a world-class rapid bus transit system and has established a mandate to eliminate private auto use during the morning rush hour by 2015. Portland, Oregon not only has one of the best public transit systems in the US, but thousands of acres of parks and open space. Vancouver with over 200 parks and 30kms of waterfront walkways/bikeways, has been consistently voted as one of the world’s most livable cities.
And then there are tot-lot parks, small alley-ways and spaces between buildings, intersections, vacant backyards, rooftops, balconies, cemeteries, surplus land, derelict parks …. These can all be transformed into vibrant green spaces for public use, for kids’ playtime and adventuring. All these places are vital because they bring identity to a community, give it focus, and can, in fact, be part of its rebirth.
"We all need to see other people. We need to see green. Wealthy people can do that at clubs and private facilities. But most people can only do it in public squares, parks, libraries, sidewalks, greenways, public transit….The least a democratic society should do is offer people wonderful public spaces” (Penalosa) Penalosa views cities as being planned for a purpose - to create human well-being. “Public spaces are not a frivolity. They are just as important as hospitals and schools. They create a sense of belonging. This creates a different type of society-a society where people of all income levels meet in public space is a more integrated, socially healthier one."
FUTURE JOZI, A CREATIVE ALTERNATIVE
We’re lucky – we have space! We already have an urban forest although it is constantly under threat as the Planning Department continues to approve cluster developments in Johannesburg’s treed neighbourhoods. But we lack access to open space, parks and publicness in our city. Both low and upper income areas are desperately short of quality public space. In Johannesburg, we are in a position to create a future where the greatest priority is given to pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport. When this happens, the street itself can then fulfill the critical "town square" function that we are missing.
We started this article with a quote from Al Gore, with whom we would argue, that liveable communities and cities with quality of life ARE the basis of competitiveness and economic strength NOW, as well as in the future. Given this, South African cities are for the most part, lacking, indeed lagging WAY behind. Now is the time to invest heavily in “greenfrastructure” !
Have a great weekend, cheers, neil
Friday, January 12, 2007
BRT Citichat 12 January 2007
CITICHAT 1/2007 - 12 January 2007
Joburg Inner City Summit – “Transportation”
Trust you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and are safely back in harness. May 2007 be a great year for you and yours - and for Jozi!
During December last year the first three workshops in the process leading to the Inner City Summit and Charter were held. The workshops asked participants in each of the sectors to share what they thought would make the city more livable for citizens and visitors and vibrant and attractive to all its users. The sectors covered were “Safety, Security & Urban Management”; “Public and Leisure Spaces, Arts, Culture and Heritage” and “Transportation”.
I covered the first two of the workshops in the last two Citichats of 2006 but there wasn’t time to also cover the third. So, we start 2007 with this report on the December 2006 Transportation workshop.
Just a reminder - these workshops, and a whole lot more that will follow in the next few months, are working towards an Inner City Summit and Charter to be held on the 5th May and stem from the Executive Mayor’s concern that:
1. There must be ongoing mobilization of stakeholders around inner city regeneration.
2. There needs to be clarity on what the critical issues of concern to stakeholder are and there should be meaningful and robust debate around these leading to solutions.
3. The programme of solutions must bind all stakeholders to common actions.
Transportation Workshop
The City’s Transportation Department provided the workshop with an overview of far-reaching plans for the metropolis including some critical aspects relative to the inner city. I was reminded as they did so that I had been highly critical of one particular aspect of their “Integrated Transport Plan (ITP) 2003 to 2008” (Citichat 29/2004 of the 20th August 2004). This was in regard to their proposal to have a large proportion of public transportation avoid the inner city: “Of concern is the negative economic impact on the Inner City as a result of redesigning transportation systems that will result in direct routing that in turn will reduce the numbers of people passing through the inner city”. Well, the good news is that the Department now recognises the Inner City as a key transportation hub and by-passing the inner city is no longer being entertained.
Back to the overview! A new proposal or refinement to the previous plans is for the introduction of a R2 billon Integrated Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System, named ‘Rea Vaya’, This will result in hundreds of new 160-seater buses using dedicated bus lanes on the following routes:-
• Lenasia to Sunninghill, via Regina Mundi, Orlando, Highgate, Parktown, Rosebank and Sandton;
• Alexandra to Randburg, via Sandton;
• Dobsonville to the inner city, via Pat Mbatha transitway;
• Parktown to Ellis Park, via Saratoga Avenue;
• Soweto Highway to Dobsonville
The BRT is quite an ‘aggressive’ system which provides the following features:
• Exclusive right-of-way lanes
• Rapid boarding and alighting
• Pre-board fare collection and fare verification
• Enclosed stations that are safe and comfortable
• Clear route maps. Signage and information displays
• Automatic vehicle location technology
• Modal integration at stations and terminals
• Bus operators contracted to provide the services
The buses will run from 5am to midnight every 10 minutes but every one to three minutes during peak times.
I traveled on a similar system in Curitiba, Brazil, some years back and if our BRT system is anything like theirs, which it promises to be, it will change our travel patterns forever and very much for the better. It was quick, easy, efficient and economic. BRT’s in various cities in the world have reduced traffic, air and noise pollution and lengthy commuting times.
The routes of the Inner City Distribution System (ICDS) that I first referred to in Citichat 29/2004 are being reappraised to integrate fully with the rest of the BRT. In addition an international Transit & Shopping Centre is being planned for the Park Station Precinct that will provide all the necessary connections between the Gautrain Station, Park Station, Metro Mall, Jack Mincer and Noord Street Long Distance Taxi Ranking.
You’ve heard it all before in other guises?
Maybe, but previously there wasn’t the urgency of a looming and immovable 2010 commitment – so the proposal has already found Council favour (it was approved on 23 November 2006), planning is at an advanced stage and construction is slated to start in the latter part of this year - the buses should be in service before April 2009 providing a year of testing and bedding down before the first ball is kicked off.
Comments, queries and concerns raised at the Workshop
The Planned Bus Systems
How energy efficient and ‘clean air’ friendly is the BRT and ICDS? Overseas examples use energy efficient vehicles, surely this is an opportunity for us to do the same?
Is the BRT/ICDS the best option? What about a Tram system for the Inner City?
Safety and Security, Management and Operational issues
• Major operational problems exist around Joubert Park and the Johannesburg Art Gallery. (One of the problems they face, and which I was certainly not aware of, is that the long distance (cross-border) taxis that rank here are licensed by Central Government which has no idea of our capacity or what effect these taxis are having on the city. The city thus has no control over numbers. It is an issue of international government protocols. Seems crazy to me that some taxis fall under Central and Provincial Government! Time that this was brought under one authority so that it can be properly co-ordinated and managed.
• In order to ensure the optimal safety and security of the public, it will be necessary to enforce the use of dedicated lanes - who will do that? Surely there is a need for a specifically designated enforcement team to regulate public transport?
• Commuters need to be educated to stop demanding taxis to drop them off where it suits them. Taxis create havoc by stopping where they please.
• Bus shelters and stations can become the focus of criminals.
• The linkages between transport and informal trading must be taken into account, perhaps creating dedicated markets and road closures.
Taxis
• There was a strong call for taxis to be ranked off-street but the difficulty is finding adequate space for this to happen. Many ranks are perceived as ‘illegal’ and this aspect should be regularized.
• There appears to be confusion over who is responsible for enforcement and management of taxis.
• Concern was expressed that some ranks, eg Faraday are not being utilized. Why?
• There is a need for information and education on existing Taxi usage, eg the destination hand-signs. But taxis need to have legible destination signage. There appears to be no provision for the disabled.
• The existing Taxi system will have to be integrated into any future public transport system
Land use and development control around stations and along transportation routes
• Given that BRT functions on specific fixed routes, it becomes critical that the land use, density and zoning along transportation routes and around the transportation nodes and hubs are carefully considered and controlled. Issues such as ground floor use, types of retail, informal trade management, linkages with Public Open Space all become important.
• The inner city currently has fairly narrow pavements. Will a focus on the provision of public transport increase pedestrian use and thus a need to widen the pavements?
Gautrain and SARCC
• Integration between the two rail systems as well as with other forms of public transport was critical and concern was raised that Gautrain was perceived to be ignoring aspects of this and was intransigent eg the distance between Park Station and Metro Mall was being ignored.
Parking
• The strategy regarding parking provision in the inner city was not clear. Was the long-term plan to dissuade private car usage and have peripheral parking and only public transport in the CBD?
• Currently the lack of adequate all-day parking facilities for the public is hampering development. Do we know how much parking is optimal now and in the future, where it can be developed and who should manage it?
• The issue of car guards/parking meters was raised as not having any strategy nor management and enforcement. The City was losing huge potential income and Cape Town was cited as an example of a city that had tackled the issue very successfully.
Bicycles
Why is it that we consistently ignore bicycles? They offer a low-cost democratic and environmentally friendly form of public transport?
The following are some additional comments received from Citichat readers:
• “Taxi facilities should be expanded and be well maintained. This is our de facto public transport system and therefore the city cannot deny responsibility for providing appropriate infrastructure. In return for providing better facilities, taxis should be more rigorously policed - washing of taxis on streets should not be allowed!”
• “An effective, safe and reliable public transportation network: one based on customer needs rather than money (Gautrain will make lots of money for some large companies due to property investments, and may serve a purpose for some commuters, and perhaps it’s a good start, but it won’t serve the needs of the majority of commuters). And please – (off the track a little but related) no more bloody stupid experiments like the Jhb – Pta highway recently. You can only penalise single-person car occupants (like me) if you offer a viable alternative. (I travel that highway each weekday). Put a usable public transportation system in place like other large cities around the world. It’s huge and it’s long term, but we need to start sometime. Urbanisation isn’t going to decrease. Yes, a good system is a pipe dream I know, but we can hope…”
• “The issue of having Joburg's maxi taxis using one colour or allowing cellphone companies and/or Airlines to paint the maxi taxis with their colour for advertising and pay the taxi owners. It will be good to emphasize the issue of standardization in all our transport systems. So far Taxis, Buses and Trains are the ones that the government have focused on and the maxi, or meter, taxis have been ignored.”
• “Cycle paths would improve movement in the city as it will be easier for people to move around using bicycles.”
• “At Noord Street taxi rank there are guys who are using trolleys - Pick 'n Pay, Checkers etc. - to help people with plenty of luggage. That's a good idea but again I'm sure that there are people who have fallen victims of crime. The city must not stop the service but instead make sure that it is run professionally and all those guys must be registered.”
• “Next to the Bree Street Taxi rank, as you go over the Nelson Mandela Bridge, there is a space used by taxi drivers to wash their vehicles. I think the space should be turned into a car wash and a “Bring and Braai” place whereby even the private car owners can go wash their cars and Braai. If possible a huge screen can be installed so that the guys can watch sports. There needs to be an all time presence of Pikitup staff to clean up the place and the security must be tightened. Better lighting will also be need so that the place can be alive after dusk. Proper drainage must be installed and the car washers must be trained and required to register their business.
• “I think some of the taxi guys who are leaving the industry because of the taxi recap should be called in to invest in things like the 3-wheeled cars which can be used as transport in the CBD between different entertainment areas. Unlike Cape Town, I do not believe that Johannesburg is ready for a Sightseeing Bus within the CBD, but as the rejuvenation continues to places like Hillbrow and around the taxi ranks, it could be introduced.”
• “Metro Police should be on site around taxi ranks to direct the traffic as it is difficult to cross the streets as the taxi guys don't care – they just go through the red robots and at some point hit people especially in the morning and evening. Our grandpa and grandmamas are struggling bigtime because they can't run across the streets.”
• “The other thing that our municipality should take into consideration is to create plenty of the bus and taxi stop around the CBD and other areas in Joburg as the taxi drivers stop everywhere and cause havoc. There needs to be penalties against people who stop taxis wherever they want and the taxi drivers should face heavy penalties including repossessing their taxis for a couple of days for not obeying the laws. Pedestrians must only cross by the robots or the stop signs and not in the middle of the road.”
• “I think the summit should deal with closing streets in the blocks around Beyers Naude from Kerk to Commissioner or even as far as Main Street on Saturday afternoons and Sundays to create a huge pedestrianised area. Rollerskating, cycling, shopping, ball games – the city should be alive with all its residents out and about. It doesn’t need to be a jamboree, just opening up space so that people living there are entitled to enjoy all the space the cars use weekdays. It could be great.”
Lots of comments, queries and suggestions – they’ll all be taken to the next level and debated as to practicality for implementation. Transportation (and its effect on other aspects of the city) is critical for the efficient working of our city. And then there’s 2010!
All the best again for 2007 – regards, neil
PS. There is an amazing display currently of historic photographs of the city at Museum Africa, really worth a visit.
Joburg Inner City Summit – “Transportation”
Trust you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and are safely back in harness. May 2007 be a great year for you and yours - and for Jozi!
During December last year the first three workshops in the process leading to the Inner City Summit and Charter were held. The workshops asked participants in each of the sectors to share what they thought would make the city more livable for citizens and visitors and vibrant and attractive to all its users. The sectors covered were “Safety, Security & Urban Management”; “Public and Leisure Spaces, Arts, Culture and Heritage” and “Transportation”.
I covered the first two of the workshops in the last two Citichats of 2006 but there wasn’t time to also cover the third. So, we start 2007 with this report on the December 2006 Transportation workshop.
Just a reminder - these workshops, and a whole lot more that will follow in the next few months, are working towards an Inner City Summit and Charter to be held on the 5th May and stem from the Executive Mayor’s concern that:
1. There must be ongoing mobilization of stakeholders around inner city regeneration.
2. There needs to be clarity on what the critical issues of concern to stakeholder are and there should be meaningful and robust debate around these leading to solutions.
3. The programme of solutions must bind all stakeholders to common actions.
Transportation Workshop
The City’s Transportation Department provided the workshop with an overview of far-reaching plans for the metropolis including some critical aspects relative to the inner city. I was reminded as they did so that I had been highly critical of one particular aspect of their “Integrated Transport Plan (ITP) 2003 to 2008” (Citichat 29/2004 of the 20th August 2004). This was in regard to their proposal to have a large proportion of public transportation avoid the inner city: “Of concern is the negative economic impact on the Inner City as a result of redesigning transportation systems that will result in direct routing that in turn will reduce the numbers of people passing through the inner city”. Well, the good news is that the Department now recognises the Inner City as a key transportation hub and by-passing the inner city is no longer being entertained.
Back to the overview! A new proposal or refinement to the previous plans is for the introduction of a R2 billon Integrated Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System, named ‘Rea Vaya’, This will result in hundreds of new 160-seater buses using dedicated bus lanes on the following routes:-
• Lenasia to Sunninghill, via Regina Mundi, Orlando, Highgate, Parktown, Rosebank and Sandton;
• Alexandra to Randburg, via Sandton;
• Dobsonville to the inner city, via Pat Mbatha transitway;
• Parktown to Ellis Park, via Saratoga Avenue;
• Soweto Highway to Dobsonville
The BRT is quite an ‘aggressive’ system which provides the following features:
• Exclusive right-of-way lanes
• Rapid boarding and alighting
• Pre-board fare collection and fare verification
• Enclosed stations that are safe and comfortable
• Clear route maps. Signage and information displays
• Automatic vehicle location technology
• Modal integration at stations and terminals
• Bus operators contracted to provide the services
The buses will run from 5am to midnight every 10 minutes but every one to three minutes during peak times.
I traveled on a similar system in Curitiba, Brazil, some years back and if our BRT system is anything like theirs, which it promises to be, it will change our travel patterns forever and very much for the better. It was quick, easy, efficient and economic. BRT’s in various cities in the world have reduced traffic, air and noise pollution and lengthy commuting times.
The routes of the Inner City Distribution System (ICDS) that I first referred to in Citichat 29/2004 are being reappraised to integrate fully with the rest of the BRT. In addition an international Transit & Shopping Centre is being planned for the Park Station Precinct that will provide all the necessary connections between the Gautrain Station, Park Station, Metro Mall, Jack Mincer and Noord Street Long Distance Taxi Ranking.
You’ve heard it all before in other guises?
Maybe, but previously there wasn’t the urgency of a looming and immovable 2010 commitment – so the proposal has already found Council favour (it was approved on 23 November 2006), planning is at an advanced stage and construction is slated to start in the latter part of this year - the buses should be in service before April 2009 providing a year of testing and bedding down before the first ball is kicked off.
Comments, queries and concerns raised at the Workshop
The Planned Bus Systems
How energy efficient and ‘clean air’ friendly is the BRT and ICDS? Overseas examples use energy efficient vehicles, surely this is an opportunity for us to do the same?
Is the BRT/ICDS the best option? What about a Tram system for the Inner City?
Safety and Security, Management and Operational issues
• Major operational problems exist around Joubert Park and the Johannesburg Art Gallery. (One of the problems they face, and which I was certainly not aware of, is that the long distance (cross-border) taxis that rank here are licensed by Central Government which has no idea of our capacity or what effect these taxis are having on the city. The city thus has no control over numbers. It is an issue of international government protocols. Seems crazy to me that some taxis fall under Central and Provincial Government! Time that this was brought under one authority so that it can be properly co-ordinated and managed.
• In order to ensure the optimal safety and security of the public, it will be necessary to enforce the use of dedicated lanes - who will do that? Surely there is a need for a specifically designated enforcement team to regulate public transport?
• Commuters need to be educated to stop demanding taxis to drop them off where it suits them. Taxis create havoc by stopping where they please.
• Bus shelters and stations can become the focus of criminals.
• The linkages between transport and informal trading must be taken into account, perhaps creating dedicated markets and road closures.
Taxis
• There was a strong call for taxis to be ranked off-street but the difficulty is finding adequate space for this to happen. Many ranks are perceived as ‘illegal’ and this aspect should be regularized.
• There appears to be confusion over who is responsible for enforcement and management of taxis.
• Concern was expressed that some ranks, eg Faraday are not being utilized. Why?
• There is a need for information and education on existing Taxi usage, eg the destination hand-signs. But taxis need to have legible destination signage. There appears to be no provision for the disabled.
• The existing Taxi system will have to be integrated into any future public transport system
Land use and development control around stations and along transportation routes
• Given that BRT functions on specific fixed routes, it becomes critical that the land use, density and zoning along transportation routes and around the transportation nodes and hubs are carefully considered and controlled. Issues such as ground floor use, types of retail, informal trade management, linkages with Public Open Space all become important.
• The inner city currently has fairly narrow pavements. Will a focus on the provision of public transport increase pedestrian use and thus a need to widen the pavements?
Gautrain and SARCC
• Integration between the two rail systems as well as with other forms of public transport was critical and concern was raised that Gautrain was perceived to be ignoring aspects of this and was intransigent eg the distance between Park Station and Metro Mall was being ignored.
Parking
• The strategy regarding parking provision in the inner city was not clear. Was the long-term plan to dissuade private car usage and have peripheral parking and only public transport in the CBD?
• Currently the lack of adequate all-day parking facilities for the public is hampering development. Do we know how much parking is optimal now and in the future, where it can be developed and who should manage it?
• The issue of car guards/parking meters was raised as not having any strategy nor management and enforcement. The City was losing huge potential income and Cape Town was cited as an example of a city that had tackled the issue very successfully.
Bicycles
Why is it that we consistently ignore bicycles? They offer a low-cost democratic and environmentally friendly form of public transport?
The following are some additional comments received from Citichat readers:
• “Taxi facilities should be expanded and be well maintained. This is our de facto public transport system and therefore the city cannot deny responsibility for providing appropriate infrastructure. In return for providing better facilities, taxis should be more rigorously policed - washing of taxis on streets should not be allowed!”
• “An effective, safe and reliable public transportation network: one based on customer needs rather than money (Gautrain will make lots of money for some large companies due to property investments, and may serve a purpose for some commuters, and perhaps it’s a good start, but it won’t serve the needs of the majority of commuters). And please – (off the track a little but related) no more bloody stupid experiments like the Jhb – Pta highway recently. You can only penalise single-person car occupants (like me) if you offer a viable alternative. (I travel that highway each weekday). Put a usable public transportation system in place like other large cities around the world. It’s huge and it’s long term, but we need to start sometime. Urbanisation isn’t going to decrease. Yes, a good system is a pipe dream I know, but we can hope…”
• “The issue of having Joburg's maxi taxis using one colour or allowing cellphone companies and/or Airlines to paint the maxi taxis with their colour for advertising and pay the taxi owners. It will be good to emphasize the issue of standardization in all our transport systems. So far Taxis, Buses and Trains are the ones that the government have focused on and the maxi, or meter, taxis have been ignored.”
• “Cycle paths would improve movement in the city as it will be easier for people to move around using bicycles.”
• “At Noord Street taxi rank there are guys who are using trolleys - Pick 'n Pay, Checkers etc. - to help people with plenty of luggage. That's a good idea but again I'm sure that there are people who have fallen victims of crime. The city must not stop the service but instead make sure that it is run professionally and all those guys must be registered.”
• “Next to the Bree Street Taxi rank, as you go over the Nelson Mandela Bridge, there is a space used by taxi drivers to wash their vehicles. I think the space should be turned into a car wash and a “Bring and Braai” place whereby even the private car owners can go wash their cars and Braai. If possible a huge screen can be installed so that the guys can watch sports. There needs to be an all time presence of Pikitup staff to clean up the place and the security must be tightened. Better lighting will also be need so that the place can be alive after dusk. Proper drainage must be installed and the car washers must be trained and required to register their business.
• “I think some of the taxi guys who are leaving the industry because of the taxi recap should be called in to invest in things like the 3-wheeled cars which can be used as transport in the CBD between different entertainment areas. Unlike Cape Town, I do not believe that Johannesburg is ready for a Sightseeing Bus within the CBD, but as the rejuvenation continues to places like Hillbrow and around the taxi ranks, it could be introduced.”
• “Metro Police should be on site around taxi ranks to direct the traffic as it is difficult to cross the streets as the taxi guys don't care – they just go through the red robots and at some point hit people especially in the morning and evening. Our grandpa and grandmamas are struggling bigtime because they can't run across the streets.”
• “The other thing that our municipality should take into consideration is to create plenty of the bus and taxi stop around the CBD and other areas in Joburg as the taxi drivers stop everywhere and cause havoc. There needs to be penalties against people who stop taxis wherever they want and the taxi drivers should face heavy penalties including repossessing their taxis for a couple of days for not obeying the laws. Pedestrians must only cross by the robots or the stop signs and not in the middle of the road.”
• “I think the summit should deal with closing streets in the blocks around Beyers Naude from Kerk to Commissioner or even as far as Main Street on Saturday afternoons and Sundays to create a huge pedestrianised area. Rollerskating, cycling, shopping, ball games – the city should be alive with all its residents out and about. It doesn’t need to be a jamboree, just opening up space so that people living there are entitled to enjoy all the space the cars use weekdays. It could be great.”
Lots of comments, queries and suggestions – they’ll all be taken to the next level and debated as to practicality for implementation. Transportation (and its effect on other aspects of the city) is critical for the efficient working of our city. And then there’s 2010!
All the best again for 2007 – regards, neil
PS. There is an amazing display currently of historic photographs of the city at Museum Africa, really worth a visit.
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