'Court action keeps CT roads congested'

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