Major construction projects help ease congestion in WC

The newly launched Western Cape Freight Strategy will aim to rebalance the modal equation in the province, improve road safety and reduce the impact of heavy vehicles on infrastructure. Delivering the keynote address at the monthly Transport Forum in Cape Town last week where the strategy was launched, MEC for transport and public works in the Western Cape, Donald Grant, said

the importance of freight in the economy could not be overstated. Ultimately, he said, the strategy was aimed at introducing greater freight efficiency overall. According to Mario Brown, Western Cape government director for transport policies and strategies, five principles were identified to guide freight transport delivery in the province. The strategy focus is on

freight transport network efficiency, inclusive economic development, network safety, environmental sustainability and cost optimisation. “Freight strategies are a requirement of the National Land Transport Act,” said Brown, indicating that they were required at municipal level although most municipalities currently did not have the capacity or expertise to develop such strategies.

“The provincial strategy aims to address the main issues in freight delivery, including improving local capacity to develop freight strategies in future.” Approved in September last year, a Freight Demand Model (FDM) for the Western Cape was developed concurrently with the strategy as well as an implementation programme. Grant said his department was acutely aware of not only

the impact freight had on the roads, but also the impact that good roads had on freight transport. “Some major construction projects that the department has undertaken recently, namely the expansion work on the N1, N2 and the R300, are expected not only to have a positive impact on congestion, but also on freight transportation in particular.”