Rea Vaya Phase 1C development on track
06 April 2016
The ongoing development of Phase 1C of the Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system around the Louis Botha Corridor was on track for completion by April 2017, Member of the Mayoral Committee for Transport Councillor Christine Walters announced at a media briefing in Sandton yesterday.
Undertaken by the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) – the City’s infrastructure development entity – at a total cost of R2.1-billion, the project will bring about a whole new public transport experience in the Alexandra-Sandton-Marlboro area and take Johannesburg a step closer to the realisation of an ecomobility future.
The project includes the construction of 16km of Rea Vaya BRT-route bridges, a R306-million M1 flyover and 100km of cycling lanes and pedestrian sidewalks. The media briefing was also attended by Development Planning and Urban Management MMC Councillor Roslynn Greeff, councillors Phumzile Sithole and De Kock, JDA Managing Director Thanduxolo Mendrew and JDA Senior Development Manager Siyabonga Genu.
In October 2015, the City hosted the Ecomobility World Festival – the second city to do so – during which several streets in Sandton were closed off to vehicular traffic and residents were encouraged to use public transport, walk or cycle to and from work. The development of Rea Vaya’s Phase 1C means that residents of Alexandra, Marlboro and Sandton will in a year’s time no longer have to use motorised transport to get around.
MMC Walters said Johannesburg was quickly realising a future that included well-planned transport arteries and Corridors of Freedom, where the focus would be on mixed-use development. MMC Greeff concurred, saying the City was on track to “rebalancing the streets for all road users” and creating a legacy for last year’s Ecomobility World Festival.
She said the City was committed to improving infrastructure and public environment and easing the movement of cyclists and pedestrians. She added that through these projects, the City intended reshaping land use patterns to promote new mass public transport corridors and a new network of non-motorised transport infrastructure that promoted walking and cycling.
“The City views the Louis Botha Corridor as a vehicle to enable people to be closer to their workplace and to shift jobs to the people. We are making the Sandton CBD accessible to cyclists, pedestrians and public transport users. We hope to change the face of Sandton so that it is easy, safe and quicker to enter [it] and the present traffic jams are a thing of the past,” she said.
The MMC added that the project had created more than 1 000 jobs and empowered 24 SMMEs.
MMC Walters also announced that the Department of Labour’s inquiry into the collapse of a temporary structure on the Grayston Drive Bridge in October last year would start on Tuesday April 19.
She said all key stakeholders had submitted their statements.