Streets could be transformed into parking lots, Africities told

02 December 2015

 

The booming populations of African cities could leave motorists in urban areas vastly more frustrated by traffic levels than they are at the moment, delegates at the Africities Summit were told today (30 November).

 

Giving a glimpse into our continent’s congested future was Dr. Ousmane Thiam, of Dakar, Senegal.

“Africa was in for its share of the traffic problems that beset other parts of the world. In Europe, for example, cars stuck in peak hour traffic jams are responsible for countries losing up to 2% of their annual gross domestic products as motorists sit stranded in never-ending queues” said Ousmane Thiam.

Of course, it is not only GDP which suffers, but also air quality, Dr Thiam said when predicting that by 2050, when Africa’s population grew to 25% of the world’s total, that there would be 2.5 billion cars on the African continent - far removed from the mere 800 million already on the continent.

Sustainable development could not occur without sustainable mobility. Importantly, this should also include quality public transport systems that were flexible enough to attract patrons. Planning is essential if our cities are to survive and our quality of life is to be preserved. This comes hot off the heels of the recently Ecomobility Festival hosted by the City of Johannesburg.