TUESDAY JUN 04, 2013 Gautengers urged to use bikes to ease congestion Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport Ismail Vadi has appealed to local residents to consider riding bicycles and motorbikes to work to prevent congestion on the roads. He based his appeal on the ever growing population figures of Gauteng, saying Census 2011 reported that the province has 12.2 million inhabitants, and later revised the figure to 12.5 million. He said the figures showed that the majority of people who own cars were middle class, who add to the congestion because of their love of using private cars. "In getting Gauteng on the move, we should in our planning take into account the results of the 2011 Census," Vadi said. A few weeks ago, Stats SA reported that Gauteng was the largest province by population, with 12.5 million residents. Preliminary research by the 25-year Integrated Transport Master Plan team suggests that in 25 years' time, Gauteng's population will have risen to 18.6 million, with an economically active population of 8.5 million. However, Gauteng's population density is low compared to that of Los Angeles, a city with a similar population size. While LA's population density is at 6 999 people per square mile, Gauteng is at only 675, Vadi said. He said more residential areas needed to be built along Gauteng's roads, saying "this reality should be addressed through transit-led growth. This will require transport planning to be synchronised with spatial planning to ensure greater densification". "The densification of urban space will yield benefits for access to a range of transport and other government services. Densification will help considerably to reduce the cost of public transport, minimise harmful effects on carbon emissions on the environment, and make it easier and cheaper to provide other government services such as water, electricity and broadband," Vadi said. He also announced that there was a possibility for the establishment of another Gautrain station in Modderfontein, after a property developer started building upmarket houses and townhouses. Vadi excitedly announced that the new station would be fully funded by the property developer. He said preparations to implement an effective public transport system were at an advanced stage. "Infrastructure projects within the transport branch have been allocated R136 million. This money will go towards infrastructure. "The department is to construct five intermodal facilities at the Germiston, Roodepoort, Vereeniging, Leratong and Pienaarspoort railway stations," Vadi added. The Star Posted at 07:56AM Jun 04, 2013 by Editor in Johannesburg |
