Major improvements on the
N1 and N2 in and around
Cape Town could be achieved
in just three years should
tolling be instituted.
That’s according to South
African National Roads
Agency Limited (Sanral)
CEO Nazir Alli who said
Capetonians would see vast
improvements in traffic flows,
safety and security while
also saving time if Sanral
was allowed to implement its
plans to upgrade and expand
the Winelands route and
introduce tolls.
But, he said, Sanral was
being held up in court
processes by the City of Cape
Town which has publicly
voiced its concerns over the
tolling process - so much
so that they have brought
the entire project to a halt
through litigation.
“Is litigation better than
dialogue?” asked Alli, who
said that the longer the process
was blocked in court, the
longer it would take to ensure
a solution was put in place.
According to Sanral, the
City’s court action is depriving
the Western Cape of a real
opportunity to lift the choking
effect of the congestion
experienced daily on the
province’s roads.
Yet business has
maintained that it is not just
the city opposing the tolls. “No
one wants these tolls,” said
one business owner contacted
by FTW. “Business does not
want them, agriculture does
not want them, freight and
logistics organisations don’t
want them, the City does not
want them, and commuters
and road users don’t want
them. It would seem the only
people in favour of tolling
are Sanral and the preferred
bidder of this project.”
Alli disputed this saying
Sanral was in favour of an
integrated transport plan in
the Western Cape, but said
this would only be realised
if the improvements to the
N1 and N2 freeway were
implemented.
INSERT & CAPTION
Major improvements
on the N1 and N2 in
and around Cape Town
could be achieved in
just three years should
tolling be instituted.
– Nazir Alli
