PART 3: STATUS QUO 2008

Transcription

1 2.1 Transportation Movement within the Rosebank Study Area is if not the most important, certainly one of the most important components of a well functioning Node. The Study Area has a well established functional road hierarchy/classification which has been identified by the Johannesburg Roads Agency taking the following factors into consideration: Vehicle volumes; Vehicle speeds; Traffic control measures; Surrounding land-use; Pedestrian activities; Pedestrian facilities; Public transport facilities; Mobility function; Accessibility function; Continuity; Traffic control; Providing connectivity; Strategic importance; Apparent road function; Regional importance. Although adjustments to these considerations are necessary in the light of the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link Project, the existing functional road hierarchy will assist as a point of departure for all other planning issues related to access, parking and trip making either through walking, cycling or driving within the precinct. The following provides a short summary of the different functional classes of roads and the meaning of these classes 5 : Class 1: Trunk Roads (National and Regional Freeways) Generally these are rural roads. Their function is to facilitate the regional distribution of traffic. These can be national or provincial roads and include freeways, expressways, dual carriageways and single carriageway main roads. Continuous sections of these roads in urban areas should be designed as by-pass routes. Route continuity is important. Example: M1 Highway 5 National Guidelines for Traffic Calming, Department of Transport, March

2 Class 2: Primary Distributors or Major Arterials (Distributor Roads) These roads constitute the primary road network for the urban area as a whole. All long distance traffic movements to, from and within the city should be accommodated on these roads. They are characterised by high traffic volumes, limited access and fairly high speeds. Route continuity again is important. Example: Jan Smuts Avenue, Oxford Road, and Bolton Road. Class 3: District Distributors or Minor Arterials (Collector Roads) These roads form the link between the primary road network and roads within the residential and other land use areas. They distribute traffic between the various residential, commercial and industrial districts of the urban area. These roads are characterised by high traffic volumes, restricted access and moderate speeds. The major public transport movement is accommodated by these roads, which therefore must also provide the necessary supporting infrastructure (preferably off the travelled roadway). Once again route continuity is important. Example: Baker Street, Bompas Road, Craddock Avenue, Glenhove, and Hood. Class 4: Local Distributors (Internal Roads) These are local through routes, which distribute traffic within communities and link district distributors and access roads. Local bus services can be accommodated on these roads and therefore they should be open ended. Local distributors should accommodate traffic generated by between 400 and 1200 dwelling units. The road layout should discourage extraneous traffic (i.e. there should be no available short-cuts between adjacent class 2 or 3 roads). Access to individual properties should not be encouraged. These roads should not be continuous between adjacent neighbourhood cells (e.g. through the provision of staggered intersections etc).example: Jellicoe, Tyrwhitt, ect. Class 5: Residential Access Roads These roads provide direct access to property within a residential area. Access for motor vehicles is not the only function of these roads. The roads are also used for recreational purposes (running, cycling, walking etc). Example: Tottenham, Seventh, and Eighth Street. The higher order roads normally fulfil a high mobility function, giving priority to vehicular movement whilst lower order roads compromise low mobility for the provision of direct access and giving priority to pedestrian movement. The current functional road hierarchy/classification is shown in Figure 12. Based on the classifications, the current hierarchy surrounding the Rosebank Station comprises mainly Class 2, Class 3 and Class 4/5 roads. Rosebank Station adjoins a Class 2: Major Arterial (Oxford Road) which provides a strong north-south linkage. An important and strong east-west linkage exists with the Bolton Road / Glenhove Road Major Arterial located south of the Rosebank Station and Jellicoe Avenue which forms the northern boundary of the Rosebank Box and which links with Jan Smuts Avenue and Oxford Road. Tyrwhitt Avenue is the busiest and most important east-west pedestrian routes even though it is not a through route. It is located to the north f the Rosebank Station and the one Gautrain Station entrance will be located at the intersection of Tyrwhitt and Oxford Road where Tyrwhitt is a pedestrian mall. 23

3 Figure 12: Functional Road Hierarchy/Classification 24

4 2.2 Public Transport The Rosebank Study Area has been identified as one of the Public Transportation Hubs in Gauteng. This is due to its excellent location as a Regional Node within Johannesburg, and Gauteng. Rosebank not only functions a one of the economic nodes within the city but, it will become a transportation node and mix use node, where people can access all its activities with ease. This will put Rosebank on the map as a multifunctional Hub within the City and Province. Before going into any detail about the various modes of public transport found within the Rosebank Study Area it s necessary to first provide some information regarding the hierarchy of public transport within Rosebank. Similar to the Functional road hierarchy, the public transport hierarchy also has various levels. These levels are depicted in Figure 13. Public transport within Gauteng used to consist of tree levels, but with the new GRRL and BRT systems it has changed. The hierarchy within Rosebank starts with Mini-bus Taxi s at the lowest level, which is followed by Metered Taxi s, and the Metro Bus System. The new BRT System slots in next and is followed by the GRRL which is the highest level within the hierarchy. Together it forms the new 5 tier transportation hierarchy within the Study Area as well as the City. Figure 13: Public Transport Hierarchy In order for the Public Transport system to work within the Rosebank Study Area, the various public transportation systems need to be linked to ensure that the commuter has a modal choice. This means that all the different modes should be linked to one another to create an inter-modal connection. Each of the different modes will be used to get to different locations with variations in travelling times. A person living in Dunkeld can access the BRT system via Pridwin Station and use it to access the GRRL to go to Tshwane or OR Tambo International Airport. This is only an example of how the hierarchy might work in the near future. In order to gain a better understanding the various modes of Public Transport, they will briefly be discussed below as they appear in the above-mentioned hierarchy. 25

5 2.2.1 Rosebank Gautrain Rapid Rail Link (GRRL) Rosebank Station is the second most southerly station of the GRRL and one of the three underground Stations of the project that are situated in the southernmost part of the system in the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipal area. GRRL s Rosebank Station is located in the Johannesburg suburb bearing the same name as the station which is approximately 5km north of Johannesburg s Central Business District and the GRRL station serving that area, Park Station. The station is located directly below and runs parallel to Oxford Road as shown in Figure 14 below. The station will serve passengers traveling to and from residential premises in the area, the small number of commercial offices, those wishing to utilise the retail outlets and passengers wishing to transfer to above ground feeder bus services, metered taxi s or minibus taxis. The station will serve the north/south train services between Park and Pretoria by the Rosebank Station Location Map provision of two side platforms. Passengers wishing to travel by GRRL to Johannesburg International Airport from Rosebank Station will be able to do so by changing trains at Sandton Station. The form and arrangement of the station is determined by having to meet the rail alignment requirements and the need to be located in a densely populated and developed urban environment to serve the pre-defined catchment area. The station will also have to be located across to the eastern side of Oxford Road to allow temporary traffic lanes during construction to be maintained and to allow access within the site for construction traffic. With the related constraints imposed by the location of the station, Rosebank Station is being developed as an underground station, two levels are required, the first underground level being a public concourse area to allow passengers to circulate and access the platform level and the second being the passenger platform area. Three entrances will be provided, one will be by the above ground car park building that will be constructed by CJV to the southeast of the station and two other entrances will be placed on the western side of Oxford Road. The northernmost of these two entrances will be adjacent to the Rosebank Mall shopping facility; the southernmost of the two entrances will be located adjacent to a feeder bus set down area approximately opposite the above ground car park building. A future entrance to the northeast of the station to provide a link to Tyrwhitt Avenue has also been allowed for. All entrances situated on the public pavement areas are steel framed buildings incorporating a gently curved steel roof with metal sheet covering, glazed facade and pigmented render walls. Externally, the cantilevered roofs are supported by columns to be designed according to the Gautrain Master Architect guidelines 6. Conceptual Site Development Plan 6 Studio Mass,

6 Figure 14: Location of the Rosebank GRRL Station 27

7 The overall success of the GRRL would depend on the efficiency of its proposed feeder/distribution system. Because, many commuters are expected to migrate, from using a private vehicle to using the GRRL and its supporting services, the question in most potential users minds revolve around getting to and from the train both at origin and at destination. For this reason, a comprehensive feeder distribution system involving busses has been developed for each station. The system for the Rosebank Station is shown in Figure 14 above. The GRRL Feeder and Distribution Systems runs along the following roads: Oxford road, Jan Smuts, Bolton, Tyrwhitt, Baker, Keyes and Cradock. There is a clear overlap on the feeder systems of the two networks, however, due to the fact that the two systems have different roles in the transport systems, in that the GRRL feeder system is primarily is to feed to the Gautrain station which is the inter City systems and the BRT feeder system is for the intra city system. 28

8 2.2.2 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) According to the Parktown-Sunninghill BRT Development Framework (2007:18) BRT is a high-quality transit system that delivers fast, comfortable, and cost-effective urban mobility through the provision of segregated right of way infrastructure, rapid and frequent operations, and excellence in marketing and customer service. Thus it is simply the idea of creating a modern rail-like performance using road based public transport technologies that are affordable to most cities. Much of the design and operational studies completed to date on SPTN are transferable to the upgraded system. The principal SPTN design changes being requested for approval are the following: Median bus ways rather than kerbside bus lanes Closed median stations with pre-board fare collection and fare verification Larger vehicles to better match supply to demand A centralised control centre using vehicle control technology will also be an integral part of the system. 7 Figure 14 above shows the proposed BRT routes. Strong links will be established between the proposed BRT system and the GRRL to ensure the integration of these systems. The BRT routes runs along Oxford road, Jan Smuts avenue providing a north- south linkage, and along Bolton Road. A BRT distribution network runs along Tyrwhitt and Jellicoe, linked by Bath Avenue. It should be added that the BRT Network is different from the Metro-Bus system as it follows a fixed route in the middle of the road and travels at various speeds, where the Metro-Bus only stops at a few designated stops in Rosebank. The Rosebank Study Area will have 3 initial BRT Stations which will be located along Oxford Road at Rutland Street in the Southern Section of the study area, at the Rosebank Interchange (Gautrain Station), and the other BRT Station will be located at Pridwin Prep School. Refer to Figure 14 above that indicates the BRT Station Locations Metro-Bus City bus system formed in 2000 out of the bus systems in Johannesburg and Roodepoort. The Johannesburg Metropolitan Bus Service (Pty) Limited, which is trading as Metrobus, operates within the 7 BRT Scoping Study, November

9 City of Johannesburg boundaries. The primary aim of the Metrobus service is to transport commuters by means of a scheduled bus service. Metrobus has a timetable that can be accessed from this their website ( which is normally updated in accordance with passenger demand, on an annual basis. Johannesburg Metropolitan Bus Service operates services along Oxford Road that will pass the Gautrain station in this area. Limited loading and offloading bays for buses in close proximity to the entrance/s of the Rosebank Station are thus needed. The planned dedicated feeder and distribution services consist of the following circular services: A service linking the Rosebank Station with Melrose Arch, Illovo, the commercial developments in Corlett Drive and Oxford Road to the north of Rosebank A service linking the Rosebank Station with Killarney and the office developments in Central Street, Houghton and A service linking Rosebank Station with Cresta, Linden and Parkhurst. The current Metro Bus Route that is operating within the Rosebank Study Area is Route 440. This route operates between Lombardy East and Northgate Shopping Centre via Rosebank, Randburg Centre and Strijdom Park. The Route is also to be operated as a cross-town service, linking the above areas directly. This route does not follow the BRT Trunk Feeder Route and is an independent service. The Route consists of six zones and services the following areas and facilities: Lombardy East, Lyndhurst, Highlands North, Waverley, Melrose North, Birnam, Wanderers Golf and Cricket Grounds, Illovo, Dunkeld, Rosebank Shopping Centre, all businesses along Jan Smuts Avenue between Rosebank and Randburg Centre (including both), Randburg Waterfront, all businesses along Hans Strijdom Drive, Strijdom Park industrial area and Northgate Shopping Centre. Passengers can pay cash or purchase pre-paid tickets for these routes, while scholar coupons are also available. The route and bus stops are clearly marked with a white sign, indicated on the top of the route number and on the bottom of the zone number. Refer to Figure 15 below for the location of the current Metrobus stops. 30

10 2.2.4 Metered Taxi s The Rosebank Study Area has metered taxi s operating within the area, but these taxi s are not like other countries where they cruise the streets looking for passengers, they have to be summoned by telephone. Such taxi s can be identified by the yellow lights on the car roofs, or by signage on the windows or side of the vehicles. The service of this mode of transport is considerably more expensive than the Metrobus service or Mini-bus taxis, but at least they ensure that you are dropped at the front door of your destination. Although locals tend to avoid metered taxis, foreigners may find this the quickest form of transport and the tariffs relatively affordable. Major hotels within Rosebank Study Area will benefit by adopting such a service for clients. Hotels do often reserve bays for taxi companies, which allows reception staff to quickly make arrangements for visitors. ( 15 November 2007). They will cater for the international tourists who are not keen on using the Mini-Bus Taxi services Mini-Bus Taxi s Minibus Taxi s is probably the most used form of public transport anywhere in South Africa. This should not be confused with metered cabs; these are typically 15-passenger vans (more or less) that run on unfixed routes. They go a lot of places where other public transport doesn't. Often overcrowded, badly maintained, driven in an unsafe manner (speeding, stopping in traffic, etc.) Competition between taxi companies has often become violent. A recapitalisation program, replacing some of the most unroadworthy vehicles, and perhaps even a subsidy program is under way. Taxis are the cheapest form of transport in Johannesburg, and are the daily transport lifeline of the bulk of the working population. They are currently operating within the Rosebank Study Area and passes by the Gautrain Station along Oxford Road. There is currently one fixed taxi rank within the Study Area and several informal taxi drop-off points which cover almost the entire Study Area. Refer to Figure 15 below for the location of the Taxi Rank and Taxi drop off points. The Taxi Rank on Jellicoe is the primary location for all Minibus Taxi s that travel within Rosebank. It thus serves as the central drop off point within the Rosebank Study Area and it must be linked with the wider public transport network by linking with the proposed BRT Station at Pridwin Prep or at the GRRL Station. This Taxi Rank serves a major function as Main Drop off point for Taxi s in Rosebank. It is however located away from the Station Site, and pedestrians or commuters have to walk to the Gautrain Station or use another taxi to get there. The Taxi Rank is however too small to cater for any additional taxi, and will have to be upgraded in the near future to accommodate the increase of densities and people. Thus, there is a proposal that a new smaller taxi rank be built or planned for in the next few years to cater for the demand for such a service. Its location will however have to be investigated further to determine the best location. ( 15 November 2007). 31