Application for traffic calming measures

Suzette Little

A request for implementing traffic calming measures in Portswood Road, Green Point, has been submitted to the City council.

The application was submitted by Ward 115 councillor Dave Bryant and is currently being dealt with in terms of council’s traffic calming policy.

According to the City’s mayoral committee member for area north, Suzette Little, all traffic calming requests are considered in terms of the City of Cape Town’s traffic calming policy, which aims to protect the most vulnerable road users, with roads adjacent to and leading to schools being the primary focus of attention.

“A systematic programme is in place for the upgrade of all road infrastructure located near educational facilities over the next few years as a priority. The Transport Network Development (TND) budget is not used for calming measures at other locations as road safety in the vicinity of schools is the City’s main priority at this stage,” said Ms Little.

She explained that routes with a higher focus on mobility would generally not qualify for traffic calming measures which means that traffic calming measures are not allowed on roads that are regarded as main arterials because of the volume of traffic on these roads.

“This specific traffic calming request for Portswood Road was received late in April via the sub-council office. This request will be investigated in terms of the City of Cape Town traffic calming policy to determine if traffic calming is required and, if so, what measures will need to be implemented,” said Ms Little.

She said given the volume of similar requests, the Transport and Urban Development Authority generally has a turnaround time of approximately 60 days for requests of this nature.

Mr Bryant said he supports the request but has no involvement in the processing thereof.