Fw: Traffic problems along Gatesville and Quarterdeck Roads due to rebuilding of Main Road

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Herberts

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Mar 30, 2012, 3:10:40 AM3/30/12
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Dear Petitioner
 
Some of you will have seen Roelf Jansen's email below as Chairman of the Residents and Ratepayers Association. I have replied to him below and leave you to contact him as you wish. Getting the City to close traffic to Muizenberg on the Main Rd is a complex business and it could take months for a decision. I am very concerened about the implications of Point 3 below.
 
Judy and I believe there is a need for a public meeting on this as soon as possible, so that it can be discussed. If you feel the same way I suggest you write to Roelf at roelf....@gmail.com calling for a public meeting
 
Best wishes
Steve
----- Original Message -----
From: Herberts
Sent: Friday, March 30, 2012 9:05 AM
Subject: Re: Traffic problems along Gatesville and Quarterdeck Roads due to rebuilding of Main Road

Dear Roelf,
 
Although not a resident of Gatesville or Quarterdeck Roads, you have copied me in on this so I have put my comments into your mail below. I am copying this to the Committee and to the people who added their names to the petition. It would be prudent for the committee to hold a public meeting where this can be debated. It would be better to do this sooner rather than later. Before adding notes to your mail in blue below, there other issues which need to be considered
 
1) No one has yet advised on what would happen in an emergency - an accident half way down Gatesville say, would mean a blockage of traffic and no emergency access
2) I believe there is a bye law about the requirement for pavements in urban areas. If this is correct what is the position on the roads where there are no pavements?
3) You have not commented on the query I raised about the possibility of the Main Road remaining one way even after work to Clairvaux Road is complete. I pointed out that this is mentioned in the last Chand report. I assume from this it contemplates the current situation continuing for some considerable time beyond the projected date in June when work is completed to Clairvaux Road. Please clarify this - it's obviously of vital interest.
 
As I said above - see my notes in blue below
 
Regards
Steve
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2012 10:21 AM
Subject: Traffic problems along Gatesville and Quarterdeck Roads due to rebuilding of Main Road

Dear residents along Gatesville and Quarterdeck Roads

Our committee is concerned about the distress of local residents due to the excessive traffic using Gatesville and Quarterdeck Roads due to the rebuilding of Main Rd.

Our committee discussed the problem at length at our last monthly meeting. We then voted on the most practical solution to the problem, namely the blocking off of the Muizenberg-bound lane of Main Rd on the Muizenberg side of Quarterdeck Rd.

The voting result was an equal split between yes and no.

Those in favour felt that the proposal would ensure safety of the residents along the route and return peace to the neighbourhood, whilst those in opposition felt that the proposal would greatly inconvenience St James residents and commuters from the south in general. While I can understand members of the Committee wanting to support the interest of St James residents and ratepayers (whom you represent) I can't understand why these committee members would support 'commuters from the south' who they don't represent.
It was also argued that the speed humps have succeeded in bringing down the vehicle speeds and that the remaining problem is that of the sheer volume of traffic.

We have therefore decided to obtain more facts to judge the issue on. We requested the city to do a traffic count of the number of vehicles going northbound on Main Rd past the Quarterdeck intersection. The city accepted this request and put electronic counters in place from which we should receive the results shortly. Paul Booth has already done a traffic count as you know. Any count done right now will almost certainly be distorted because it is the school holidays - one would expect traffic to be less until after 10th April

Should the number of vehicles be shown to be excessive ( how will this be defined - and as has been said it is not only volume, it is the danger posed by the volume of cars) or it be shown that dangerous speeding still occurs our committee will resume our discussion and, if necessary, endorse the proposed closure to the City of Cape Town.

Best regards
Roelf Jansen
Chairman
Kalk Bay & St James Residents & Ratepayers Assocation



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Mike Elliott

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Mar 30, 2012, 10:37:41 AM3/30/12
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Well doneSteve,We will write to Roelf.

 

Regards

 

MIKE ELLIOTT

+27 21 788 4686

+27 82 775 2333

mi...@fischerpanda.co.za

 

COASTAL MARINE

Import & Export CC

Herberts

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Mar 31, 2012, 7:14:17 AM3/31/12
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For your information I forward a reply received from Barrie Gasson - Ratepayers Committee member
 
Steve
----- Original Message -----
From: B Gasson
Sent: Saturday, March 31, 2012 12:35 PM
Subject: Re: Traffic problems along Gatesville and Quarterdeck Roads due to rebuilding of Main Road

Hi Steve

As a committee member I'd like to respond to some of your points.

1. Emergency: If an ambulance or fire engine needed to get access to a property bordering a blocked Gatesville Road they could do so by using Duignam Road onto which all the upper properties back and to which most of have access. The few on the lower side from Chartfield northwards would have to be accessed on foot via Belmont Rd or in the case of fire by connected hoses - as was done in the case of the fire in my house where the nearest water point they could find was opposite Hillrise Road and about 100m of hose was needed to reach the house. It's not a perfect solution but it would work.

2. Bye-law: I have no knowledge about this one.

3. Two-way Main Rd traffic: I believe we all understand and firmly expect that it is intended to open Main Rd from the Clairvaux Rd junction to two-way traffic from July. This was what was said at the Liaison Committee meeting. Chand may have misinterpreted this and it needs to be corrected by the Council.

4. Regarding the committee's views about blocking northbound traffic at Quarterdeck Rd: some KB members favoured blocking off and some didn't; some St J members favoured blocking off and some didn't. The committee views were not divided along geographical lines relating to convenience (St J) or inconvenience (KB). Those who didn't favour blocking off were balancing the demonstrated mitigating effects on speeding and danger that the speed humps and 3-ton limit had achieved with the advantages to traffic from the south heading towards the Cape Flats. The temporary nature of the situation also weighed in its favour, in their view.
Kalk Bay - St James is not an island and, in my view at least, a Ratepayers Association while seeing to the needs of the local community has to keep in mind the larger context and act responsibly towards both the larger community and the one it represents. It's always a balancing act involving the view 'from the inside' and the view 'from the outside'. In the particular case of the 'rat-run' the attempt is to balance community adaptation and traffic mitigation for a limited period of time.

5. I recommended that vehicle counters be put in so that we would have hard facts about 24-hour flow patterns. We don't have these, and it is common practice to get such data. Analysis will show the pattern of peaks and troughs as well as the volumes at particular times, and these will need to be studied and interpreted for any further insights they may provide, particularly about the peaks. Further mitigating measures might be suggested. Equally, blocking off at Quarterdeck Rd might be suggested. It wlll be instructive to compare the school holiday pattern with the post-Easter pattern - although this was not the intention when the counters were put in.
Before the counters were in place I did a visual count on Friday 23 March between 16h35 and 18h35 at the Anderson - Gatesville junction. This showed the following: 211 cars moved north along Gatesville during the first hour and 220 during the second; they were usually in platoons of 6 - 10 with gaps of up to 60 seconds between them; the majority of drivers ignored the stop sign at the bottom of Anderson but negotiated the speed humps very carefully and drove slowly between them; taxis were not a problem as being heavily laden they negotiated the humps even more carefully; about 4 motor-bikes / hour took this route; there was the occasional cowboy in a hurry with sound system on high and noisy exhaust; about 6 cars / hour moved south along Gatesville. Apart from the ignoring of the stop sign the overall impression was one of calm good behaviour and I thought there was little danger in the situation.

That's it.

Regards - Barrie.
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Cara Dowling

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Mar 31, 2012, 2:48:29 PM3/31/12
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I imagine that those not directly affected by this DO NOT stand in Gatesville or Quarterdeck Rds at 6am ANY morning when the first taxis start with their MEGA sound systems blaring.
And I heard just the other day that a neighbour was punched in the face while trying to get into his garage on Gatesville Rd - admittedly going in the "problematic" direction.
 
I wonder why we're asking the opinion who don't live in the roads affected, who don't witness the roadrage on a weekend and at 4 - 5pm any week day.
 
Perhaps we could legally boycott the system and bypass all this beuroctratic red tape nonsense!
 
And,sorry,as for the notion of Duigmnam Rd being used for emergency vehicles - and then....after the cul de sac.....?? helicopter??
 
Any argument against ours are offered by those not experiencing the situation 24/7. By those not having to find parking elsewhere, by those  not having to try to calmly suggest to road-=users that they use the Main Rd to access Boyes Drive (all to deaf ears).
I hate to use a cliche but do we REALLY have to wait for something more awfult han a punch-up to have something done about this?! It's appalling!
 
 
Enough now!
 
Cara

Herberts

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Mar 31, 2012, 3:04:31 PM3/31/12
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I could not agree with you more. It is a shocking state of affairs.  Let's stick together and get it resolved!
Judy
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Cara Dowling

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Mar 31, 2012, 3:23:09 PM3/31/12
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Yes, I waited to hear the responses of the ratepayers commitee and others, and now I realise that was a wasted exercise!
This is a unique issue. No-one in St James lives in a through road. So let's not involve them.
 
The sooner the better, I say!
 
Thanks, Judy. Sorry my next 12 or so days are a bit tied up with a production, but I'll do what I can!

Cara Dowling

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Apr 1, 2012, 10:58:47 AM4/1/12
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Almost had toes ridden over this afternoon, by 5 (northbound) cars trying to get past 2 other cars heading south on Gatesville Rd.

Herberts

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Apr 1, 2012, 11:41:00 AM4/1/12
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Here is my mail of today.
 
Regards
Steve
----- Original Message -----
From: Herberts
Sent: Sunday, April 01, 2012 5:38 PM
Subject: Re: Traffic problems along Gatesville and Quarterdeck Roads due to rebuilding of Main Road

Hi Barrie
 
Thank you for your email and the details you have provided. Instead of batting this back and forth I think I can summarise the situation as follows:
 
1) On 8th March the Committee and others were sent a petition requesting action be taken. This petition subsequently came to include 50 resident and ratepayer addresses of which 25 are on Gatesville and Quarterdeck Roads.
 
2) Despite this request from the people the Committee has been elected to represent the Committee has so far not reached a decision as to whether it will support  the residents' petition. Your own view is that the Committee has a duty to look at the 'bigger picture' although I would think this is the duty of the City of Cape Town
 
3) Traffic counters have been installed - this despite the figures from your count and Paul Booth's being very similar. I don't know what more will be learned of relevance. Of course they won't record incidents of road rage, late night and early morning music blasting from vehicles, and the bakkie/trailer combination that hurtles down Anderson at about 5 every morning, crashing over the speed bumps all the way down Gatesville Rd. The sort of noise that occurs frequently in the quiet hours.
 
 4) Assuming the counters are left in place until after the schools go back (10th April), the data is analysed and the Ratepayers Committee reconvenes to assess the results I would think we will be into May. By then it's only 'til June when the Main Road should be complete to Clairvaux dear residents - grin and bear it.
 
5) About the Chand newsletter I quote from my earlier mail :
 
Finally at point 11 below Paul Booth states that this situation will continue until the Main Road is opened to two way traffic from Clairvaux Road (date unspecified). Yesterday we received Chand's Newsletter 23. Para 3.4.2. Sub para 3 says that the project team 'speculated' that opening the Main road to two way traffic may aggravate traffic congestion '"and that traffic management may be more successful within the current one-way system". I assume from this that there is a view that through traffic should continue to use Gatesville Road after work is completed up to Clairvaux Road.
 
The Committee having gone along with the situation now inflicted on residents I would think residents would want a categorical assurance that the Committee will not vote in favour of the situation continuing after work is completed to Clairvaux Road. I would like confirmation on this point.
 
Best

karenm...@gmail.com

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Apr 1, 2012, 12:01:22 PM4/1/12
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Hi steve, we support all your efforts. Thanks for keeping us updated. If a meeting is called I gladly join.

Karen and Nic
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone powered by Virgin Mobile
From: "Herberts" <arc...@49er.co.za>
Date: Sun, 1 Apr 2012 17:41:00 +0200
Subject: Fw: Traffic problems along Gatesville and Quarterdeck Roads due to rebuilding of Main Road

Pari Callias

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Apr 1, 2012, 12:15:10 PM4/1/12
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Hi Steve

Thank you for your ongoing efforts.  Barrie mentions that 3t trucks don't use the road.  Maybe not, but 5t to 6t trucks regularly do!  We are also rudely awakened at about 5.00am every morning to the truck noisily (everything in it crashing) going over the traffic calmers, so it is difficult to be rational about this problem when we are sleep deprived.  It is not only the taxis (boom boxes) that are guilty of the cacophony.  Our windows and doors frequently vibrate to the sound systems of the bass booster freaks passing our home.  We witness road rage regularly when north and south bound traffic is snarled up.   The pavement edge at the stormwater drain near Ponder Road steps has been demolished yet again.

Our concern is that Chand's timetable may be extended beyond June 2012 as has happened already on this contract.

Regards
Gerald and Pari

George Dimopoulos

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Apr 1, 2012, 2:47:55 PM4/1/12
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Hi All

Thank you for your efforts thus far - we greatly appreciate it.

Thought we'd share x2 examples of how the traffic flow through Gatesville road has impacted us.... 

Our car was bashed during 4-5pm "rush hour" on the corner of Gatesville/Belmont rd's in Feb by a council worker in a big hurry cutting the corner. 

The wall was reversed into last week on Mon 26th March between 08:30-09:00 by someone trying to do a three point turn, apparently...

Regards
George/Emma

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Cara Dowling

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Apr 1, 2012, 3:46:07 PM4/1/12
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And yet, according to the ratepayers, the City of Cape Town and Chand, there is no problem?!!
 
This is tedious.
 
Cara
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