The City of Cape Town thanks residents and businesses on Blaauwberg Road for their patience during the construction for MyCiTi bus services, and wishes to inform them that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Work is progressing as fast as possible on Blaauwberg Road, and residents and business people using service roads to access their driveways can now see how the situation will be remedied. On the northern side of the road between Wood Road and Donkin Drive, access to driveways has been restored, lighting is up and adequate footpaths are in place. This work is continuing along the rest of the northern side, and along the entire southern side, of Blaauwberg Road.
The restricted access has been a result of road-widening, which is necessary to make space for the bus lanes in the centre of the road. This road widening has been completed between Wood and Donkin Roads. Along this section, the traffic has been moved from the right to the left side of the road, to make way for the construction of the bus lanes alongside the median. However, there will be no further restricted access to driveways or sidewalks.
The Eskom electrical supply cables at various locations along Blaauwberg Road will be installed after driveway access is restored, as the temporary service roads block off access for the cable installation. In the meantime, the City has employed security guards to patrol the unlit stretches of road at night, and will continue to do so until lighting is restored.
Efforts to minimise traffic disruptions along Blaauwberg Road are ongoing. Sections of Blaauwberg Road have been converted into single lanes to facilitate construction, these lane restrictions are however only imposed during off peak periods 09:00 until 16:00.
“We know that residents and business owners along Blaauwberg Road have been inconvenienced during the construction for MyCiTi services, and while we are doing all we can to minimise this convenience, we must thank people wholeheartedly for their patience,” says Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Roads and Stormwater Brett Herron. “It is all for a worthy cause: This area is to be the first to experience the best public transport service ever implemented in Cape Town, and possibly in all of South Africa. This service will serve the residents for generations to come, helping to create sustainable, people-friendly neighbourhoods in the greater Table View area.
“In the next step of the service rollout, our new nine-metre buses will provide services to the residential areas around Table View. These new buses will navigate the residential street more nimbly than the buses currently in use. The new station at Wood Drive will allow seamless transfer between smaller feeder buses and trunk buses.
“Rising numbers of passengers are taking the bus each month, and we wish to encourage all schoolchildren, shoppers, commuters and recreational users to take the bus wherever possible, and experience our smart new transport service.”
