IRT lane under construction in Cape Town (picture: Bruce Sutherland, City of Cape Town)
There has been a lot of public debate about the costs and funding of the planned new Integrated Rapid Transit System (IRT) in Cape Town recently. Many commentators and ratepayers are asking – can we afford it? My view is – can we as a city afford not to implement an effective system of public transport such as the IRT?
Future congestion costs, pollution costs and energy costs all mean that Cape Town is not sustainable without a serious shift to public transport over the next ten years. As Ibrahim Seedat and Bill Cameron of the National Department of Transport point out: “The next 10 to 20 years are going to see traffic congestion, oil depletion, climate change restrictions and economic contraction seriously challenge inherited movement systems. Sustainable cities will be those that develop energy-efficient and user-friendly movement networks. Mass car use will not meet this challenge, but nor will ineffective public transport systems that are ‘stuck in traffic’” (Cape Times, 02 November 2009)
Of course there must be accurate budgeting and costing for a project this size, and we have to live within our means as a city. It is prudent to ensure that promised funding from Central Government materialises. Bill Taylor, a US citizen living in Cape Town makes the point very well: “So now imagine a city where the authority running the mass transit scheme is facing a multibillion-rand gap in its budget because of the recession. Some of the projects have shot up way over the estimates, entire sections of the system have been left off the budget and forgotten. If this sounds familiar, consider that this is the recent report card not for Cape Town but for New York City. The main thing, however, is that despite all of this, there is no mention of stopping development. The city has realised that to retain its status and function properly it cannot allow itself to fall behind, although all five of its transport projects are costing more than anticipated” (Letter to the Cape Times, 02 November 2009).
The IRT is the one project that can serve to reconnect and integrate our physically and socially divided city in a relatively short period of time. I have a vision, in years to come, of an instantly-recognisable network of red bus lanes criss-crossing the city, connecting all communities to each other.
I say – let’s all get behind the Red Line. Hamba Bomvu! Go Red!
The instantly recognisable 'red line' snakes through Cape Town (pic. Bruce Sutherland)
Steel re-enforced concrete with a red ochre tinge makes the new IRT system instantly recognisable (pic. Bruce Sutherland)
Workers construct the IRT lane coming in from Paarden Eiland to the Cape Town Central City (pic. Bruce Sutherland)
Table Mountain and Lion's Head are recognisable from the new IRT lane under construction between Milnerton and Blaauberg
Bruce Southerland's beautiful aerial picture captures the 'red line' as it moves up the West Coast
Transit-led development
The IRT financial sustainability issue is not just confined to Cape Town. The City of Johannesburg went through exactly the same debate two weeks ago. Enrique Penalosa, ex-Mayor of Bogata, Colombia and IRT expert pointed out at a talk in Johannesburg recently that the real issue, in all SA cities, is our low density urban sprawl. I agree with him.
Any form of public transport will not be sustainable unless we seriously tackle our current urban form. More people travelling shorter distances, with better peak to base rations, will ensure that a future IRT service is viable. The City of Cape Town has recently published a draft policy on densification for comment. In my view, far tougher measures need to be put in place, but it is a good start and we should all be getting involved in the debate.
Last week, the Cape Times published a 3D city population density map by UCT academics Ivan Turok and Ken Sinclair-Smith, showing that our highest densities, not surprisingly, are in the townships and informal settlements in the south-east, rather than near the traditional urban centres. In my view, what would be useful is to show at the same time the population density pattern in relation to the location of the urban economy and current development patterns and the transport connections between them. While we need to try to take the economy to where the people are, in the long run, we need to bring the people nearer to the production centres and the jobs, reduce the physical footprint of the city, and the resulting distances.
This means promoting transit-led development, where there is a confluence of people, economy and public transport in nodes and along transport corridors, is given a high priority.
Two examples will suffice:
The new IRT station adjacent the Woodstock/ Esplanade rail stations, has the potential to drive the redevelopment of Woodstock, Salt River and Culemborg, and connect back to the proposed CT Station phase two redevelopment project.
The development of a multimodal transport connection (rail, bus, cycling) in Woodstock has the potential to lead the regeneration of the land east of the Cape Town CBD
Similarly, the IRT Red Line through Paarden Eiland could lead to the creation of a well-located mixed use, mixed income area
The IRT West Coast route goes through Paarden Eiland along a disused railway track (pic. Bruce Sutherland)
Hi Andrew,
do you know the current status of the IRT? What routes/sections are going to be completed on time for 2010 and beyond? I am not really concerned for the 2010 event but more concerned that the City I now live in will have to wait even longer now for a decent public transport system that is integrated and running smoothly.
I am an optimistic user of the current system that includes my own car, Metro rail, walking or Golden Arrow bus to get to the Waterfront. In taking the GA bus I’ve learned a new meaning to the word patience.
I prefer to walk from the station to the waterfront though as I get extremely frustrated with GA. I was looking forward to the IRT serving the inner city and I was full of hope for a better system when the news broke last week of the lack of funds.
The Airport-CBD route will be completed by 2010, as will the shuttle service from the Main Transport Hub in Hertzog Boulevard to the Stadium, and an inner city feeder route. The rest of phase 1a, i.e. the route to Blaauwberg and Atlantis will only be operational after 2010
BIG SIGH OF RELIEF
Thanks for clarifying!
Excellent article. If proper public transport and densification aren’t implemented cities will never develop into livable places where it is easy to do business. If you don’t believe me go to Delhi and see the alternative (upper middle-classes forced to have drivers, you can only do one meeting a day, poor people spend an even bigger fortune on transport).
Can’t say I disagree with you Andrew, but I think careful thought needs to go towards matching public transport investment with intended spatial development. As I said in an article in the same edition of the Cape Times as the letter and article you mention, we also need to consider that density can’t be forced where it doesn’t want to go.
Yes, for urban efficiencies we need higher density than we have now, but I believe we need to identify WHERE that density will go, and support it with infrastructure and services. I realise that the inner city is the primary focus of the Partnership, but I am not sure why this area is seen to be the first priority for a radial IRT system. There are too many trips to other parts of Cape Town that are poorly served by public transport.
I also think that a stronger emphasis on transport hubs as development nodes will help unlock private capital, if they are well located. In this regard, even the inner city is too big to think of as a single node. We need to think broadly and in detail – sometimes I think that spatial and transport planning don’t cover the full range of scales needed to make a successful city. Without good urban design, hubs won’t be walkable, and public transport won’t be accessible.
I am sure you have thought of all this, but I haven’t seen much public discourse on exactly how we will achieve things like more appropriate densities and improved public transport. I don’t believe we can just set the zoning and hope the people will come. We can’t just “implement density”; there is a whole raft of enablers needed to make it happen, and many of them are missing. I am sure you are right about the potential at Woodstock and Paarden Eiland, but has anybody asked what is missing – what has prevented these locations from being great places already? What needs to accompany the IRT to overcome development inertia?
Rory, I agree with many of your comments. When the dust from the Final Draw has settled in the next few days, I’ll have some time to engage
Thanks for bringing this issue to the fore. I am surprised, though, that there is no comment on the parallel cycle track that runs along the whole 16km of the new IRT. THIS is also a step-change in Cape Town’s approach to transport, by far the longest piece of dedicated cycle infrastructure we have seen in the City. There is a long way to go before we have a truly cycle-friendly City, but it all adds to the choice, and choice is one key criteria for citizen-friendliness.
You’re correct – there’s a great deal that can be written about all the exciting cyle lane projects in Cape Town. I hope to write more about this in the New Year
While the preparations for the 2010 Match Shuttle System is very exciting, I’ve seen similar images of the route through Paarden Eiland in documents illustrating the transformation of Barcelona.
Its perhaps almost scary how similar the sites are. Barcelona’s Olympic Village was previously mainly an industrial area, which in a way cut off the access to the seafront.
The IRT route through Paarden Eiland offers great opportunities and I wouldn’t be surprised if Cape Town’s own Olympic Village could be found at this site come 2020.
Rory, some excellent points. What is very exciting is a recent development. A MOU was signed between the City of Cape Town and PRASA( the passenger rail agency of South Africa) to look at areas where developments can be pursued around railway lines and railways stations.
Densification around transport nodes will of course also be looked at and perhaps in particular the sinking of the railway lines from the city to Woodstock and other nodes across the city where suitable developments can be investigated.
As Andrew has mentioned, the Woodstock and Paarden Eiland sites are great options in terms of future developments.
http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/MediaReleases/Pages/MemorandumofunderstandingsignedbetweenPRASAandCity.aspx