Mayor Mashaba to abandon bicycle lanes...

[Nayr]

Nayr that's what been said here, there are also a lot of commuters coming from Tembisa, so why didn't 'they' respond to the demand as a starting point? instead of throwing millions at the useless 'flagship' project in town/Brixton? That's the issue i have and why its good the new mayor has pulled the brakes, the people steering this project were disconnected from reality, and what they have done is  frigging mess.

I Must have missed the point somewhere. I just wanted to illustrate that the dedicated lanes, done in the correct manner i.e. making it difficult for vehicles to jump a large curb onto the lanes, are actually been utilised effectively by commuters every day.

 

agreed take the flagship to where most commuters are, if you are going to do it all. From what I heard the pedestrian / cycle lanes portion of the road cost in the region of 1mil per Km.... Last time I went to school that means we could have had 100kms of cycle lanes at that budget.... something amiss

[chris_meowzit]

we take too many things for granted, I imagine you didn't have running water or a toilets yet they build cycle lanes, I would be very pissed off. Cycle lanes can and must wait so that people of SA can get these services. Good on you Mashaba!

 

https://www.goodthingsguy.com/business/bicycle-lanes-sandton-diverted-alexandra/

[shaper]

I drive through Hillbrow often to get to one of my construction sites down town near Bree street, there are cycle lanes with the yellow rumble strip, which are used as taxi parking, the other sections have a proper kerb and they were just used as rubbish dumps.  What is/was a nice idea does not work... however what I have noticed in the last couple of weeks is how much cleaner Hillbrow is, there are many visible street cleaners now where there were none.

 

Whilst most comments here are from a cycling bias the fact is that the money is better spent cleaning up and uplifting such areas.  Even Joubert Park Taxi rank and the surrounding area is much cleaner already

[GaryvdM]

I have to agree with the sentiment that if they are going to put in bike lines, they should be along routes that already have bike traffic. Make life easier for these guys.

 

Places that I've observed (some already mentioned by others):

• Diepsloot to Forways
• Tembisa to  Sparton/Sebenza
• Zandspruit to Strydom park

[Surv0MTB]

This is good, rather push the funds to service delivery for the people suffering the most. Bicycle lanes can wait.. more important things are needed.

[nathrix]

 

I have to agree with the sentiment that if they are going to put in bike lines, they should be along routes that already have bike traffic. Make life easier for these guys.

 

Places that I've observed (some already mentioned by others):

• Diepsloot to Forways
• Tembisa to  Sparton/Sebenza
• Zandspruit to Strydom park

 

 

Can add a few where I see plenty commuters:

• Between Olievenhoutbos/Midrand and Woodmead
• Between Olievenhoutbos/Midrand and Bryanston
• Woodmead and Parkhurst/Sandton/Bryanston
• Centurion and Woodmead/Parkhurst/Sandton/Bryanston

[nathrix]

Agree that more important services are needed. As someone mentioned before, no new or upgrades to roads to be done without including cycle lanes in the plans/upgrades.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

it's an excellent move. More tax rands diverted to uplifting the poor. Education, housing, basic services. THEN other things. Not bike lanes over toilets and housing.

[Nayr]

I have to agree that basic human needs should be taken care of first. So I'll pose a question, Surely Safety has become a basic human right, surely ensuring people get to work safely should be a priority as well as housing and the rest ? We are not talking about people like me who have other means of transport, talking about the thousands of existing commuters who are actually keeping our roads less busy than what they could be if no-one rode their bikes to work. So my argument, seen as its a friday, would be to build the lanes, ensure commuters rights to travel safely, educate people , get more bikes on the road and less forms of public transport... make a visual impact as Mayor and clean up the streets... Oh and while you are spending a meniscal amount of your budget doing this, spend the other 99.5% making up for 20 years of broken promises...

[shaper]

I have to agree that basic human needs should be taken care of first. So I'll pose a question, Surely Safety has become a basic human right, surely ensuring people get to work safely should be a priority as well as housing and the rest ? We are not talking about people like me who have other means of transport, talking about the thousands of existing commuters who are actually keeping our roads less busy than what they could be if no-one rode their bikes to work. So my argument, seen as its a friday, would be to build the lanes, ensure commuters rights to travel safely, educate people , get more bikes on the road and less forms of public transport... make a visual impact as Mayor and clean up the streets... Oh and while you are spending a meniscal amount of your budget doing this, spend the other 99.5% making up for 20 years of broken promises...

Go do a survey, go stand on a street corner, stop every cyclist commuter you see... ask them what they would prefer... a bike lane or running water/sanitation and clean streets?

 

I guarantee 100% will say the latter!! Is like having the luxury of power steering and aircon in your car... nice to have but if you got no fuel, oil in the vehicle then is pretty useless.

 

There is a crumbling infrastructure that needs repairing/upgrading, I can take you to downtown Joburg where basement car parks are full of sewage because of leaking pipes, overloaded systems that back up into buildings.  There has been neglect in areas where such things such as service delivery are mere words and questions of what does that mean if not ridiculed as a joke.  

 

In other words now is the time to spend the money where needed where was neglected before through incompetence and corruption, put fuel in the tank, get the car on the road... then we can look at upgrading the nice things to have!!

 

Maybe stop hypothesizing and go take a walk down town joburg during a work day, go to the areas you wouldn't dream of going and look at the state of them... then come say you seen and think it still a good idea to spend whatever minuscule % of budget on nice to have bike lanes.

 

Fix what is broken first... that is the priority!! 

 

Edit:  One of my clients is a Social Housing firm for who we build/convert/renovate social (low cost) housing, the aim being to move people from shacks to proper housing... so I spend a lot of time in such areas as inner city and Soweto, so have a pretty good idea what the population of these areas want and speak from actual on the ground experience talking with them

[kosmonooit]

we take too many things for granted, I imagine you didn't have running water or a toilets yet they build cycle lanes, I would be very pissed off. Cycle lanes can and must wait so that people of SA can get these services. Good on you Mashaba!

 

https://www.goodthingsguy.com/business/bicycle-lanes-sandton-diverted-alexandra/

 

 

At the same time cycling as a means of transport can be a factor in poverty upliftment and improvement in quality of life.

 

Now where does those expensive bridge projects on the M1 fit in? Given that the Civ Eng industry has been shown to be the most corrupt after the arms industry, quite possibly agents from such smelt the blood, the will for glamour 'green' projects by the former mayor.

[Bloukrans]

Go do a survey, go stand on a street corner, stop every cyclist commuter you see... ask them what they would prefer... a bike lane or running water/sanitation and clean streets?

 

I guarantee 100% will say the latter!! Is like having the luxury of power steering and aircon in your car... nice to have but if you got no fuel, oil in the vehicle then is pretty useless.

 

There is a crumbling infrastructure that needs repairing/upgrading, I can take you to downtown Joburg where basement car parks are full of sewage because of leaking pipes, overloaded systems that back up into buildings.  There has been neglect in areas where such things such as service delivery are mere words and questions of what does that mean if not ridiculed as a joke.  

 

In other words now is the time to spend the money where needed where was neglected before through incompetence and corruption, put fuel in the tank, get the car on the road... then we can look at upgrading the nice things to have!!

 

Maybe stop hypothesizing and go take a walk down town joburg during a work day, go to the areas you wouldn't dream of going and look at the state of them... then come say you seen and think it still a good idea to spend whatever minuscule % of budget on nice to have bike lanes.

 

Fix what is broken first... that is the priority!! 

 

Edit:  One of my clients is a Social Housing firm for who we build/convert/renovate social (low cost) housing, the aim being to move people from shacks to proper housing... so I spend a lot of time in such areas as inner city and Soweto, so have a pretty good idea what the population of these areas want and speak from actual on the ground experience talking with them

Well said!

 

This logical and reasonable post has now place here!! (on a Friday, nogal!)

[RocknRolla]

I have to agree with Shaper.

 

Whoever has done more that just drive by an informal settlement, will understand the huge infrastructure and housing needs in these areas. Take some time and spend it (outside of your vehicle) in the streets of JHB and you will begin to understand the bigger issues that cycle lanes.

 

 

A cycle lane does not equal cycling safety. It makes it safer, but there are still intersections to cross etc, and with motorists who think bicycles should/have no right on the roads the enforcement of basic traffic laws are of importance. Not only prosecuting speeding motorists.

[kosmonooit]

In terms of Joburg maintenance (Jhb Water, Roads, City Power etc) I don't think is for lack of budget, its how that money has been spent, and the quality and efficacy of management/leadership/supervision/workmanship. Currently its not working, its a disaster,

[shaper]

At the same time cycling as a means of transport can be a factor in poverty upliftment and improvement in quality of life.

 

Now where does those expensive bridge projects on the M1 fit in? Given that the Civ Eng industry has been shown to be the most corrupt after the arms industry, quite possibly agents from such smelt the blood, the will for glamour 'green' projects by the former mayor.

The bridges are for new bus routes and not just cycle lanes which are also being incorporated into these bridges and routes (which is what most are harping on about, if you upgrade a route then incorporate cycle routes at the same time).  If you drive through Wynberg towards Alex you will see that where the new M1 bridge at Grayston drive heads into Wynberg the cycle route/lane has already been built and is on the pavement adjacent to the traffic.  The majority of these civils works are to upgrade the commuting infrastructure into sandton with better feeder bus services

[simpythegimpy2]

As usual Stephen Grootes puts it best:

 

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-09-19-op-ed-mashabas-johannesburg-job-is-tough-but-not-impossible/#.V99_75h97IU