Major traffic nightmare looms for the east
Already frustrated motorists using Atterbury or Lynnwood roads should prepare themselves for an even worse traffic nightmare should the metro decide to reduce traffic lanes in the two major arteries in both directions to make way for the Bus Rapid Transit system.
Traffic flow from the east of Pretoria to the west along Lynnwood and Atterbury Roads could become the biggest disaster the city has ever experienced.
This warning comes from the Democratic Alliance, which said the Tshwane metro had decided to reduce Line 2B of the bus rapid transit system (BRT) known as A Re Yeng, running from Loftus along Lynnwood and Atterbury Roads to Menlyn, down to one car lane and one bus lane per direction.
“The impact on traffic on Atterbury and Lynnwood roads by removing one lane for cars will be disastrous for the east-west corridor,” DA councillor Siobhan Muller said on Monday.
The initial plan, based on extensive public participation meetings and a Traffic Impact Study (TIS) to have two car lanes and one rapid bus lane per direction on the two already heavily-congested main arteries, had been changed by city manager Jason Ngobeni two weeks ago without any consultation or explanation, according to Muller.
“This after two years of public participation and a council decision for the detail of Line 2B and with construction that should have commenced in February this year already,” Muller, who is ward councilor for the Lynnwood and Menlo Park areas, said.
Currently, traffic on Lynnwood Road during peak times caused back-ups for up to 30 minutes with two car lanes in both directions, she said.
“Gautrain buses carrying passengers to Hatfield station from the east takes up to 40 minutes to reach the station at 07h00 in the morning, while the trip takes 12 minutes under normal circumstances,” Muller said.
“It would appear the decision was initiated by serious funding problems with the department of transport threatening to withhold the remaining funding of the BRT due to serious breaches of laws, agreements and standards of the current BRT system.”
She said the Jacaranda trees along the route had already been removed in 2014 to allow for the project to commence.
“The question to be asked is who gave Ngobeni the authority and expert advice to reduce the number of lanes and where the TIS is to support this drastic and sudden decision.”
Muller warned that the rash decision had the potential to cut the east of Pretoria completely off from Hatfield and the Gautrain station.
She called for an urgent TIS and demanded that the entire public participation process for the BRT lane be redone, saying that the impact of such a decision on the residents, not only of the Lynnwood area, but commuters as well, had not been thought through properly.
“As the whole project has changed and there are drastic implications to business and residents in the east of the city, the proposals must be revisited with interested and affected parties,” Muller said, adding that the initial public participation that had taken place no longer had any relevance.
She also said that the new developments could result in the long-term delay of Line 2B.
The Tshwane metro has not yet responded to questions on the matter.
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