Ambassador Marisa Gerards and the delegation from the Netherlands
Representatives from cycling clubs and associations
Officials from government
Members of the media
Esteemed guests
Thank you for attending and participating in the Gauteng Cycling Indaba, which the Department of Roads and Transport has organised in partnership with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This event forms part and parcel of the 2016 October Transport Month Campaign, which is aimed at promoting the use of public transport, sustainable mobility and road safety.
Cycling is a growing phenomenon in our province both as a sport and as a form of sustainable mobility. For instance, the Telkom 947 Cycle Challenge that is organised annually in Gauteng, and which will be held again in November this year, stands out as one of the largest cycling events on the African continent. Last year alone it drew almost 33 000 cyclists to the event.
More importantly though is the fact that daily from Diepsloot to Randburg; from Tembisa to Kempton Park and from Lawley to Lenasia hundreds of people use bicycles to travel from home to work and back. I am also seeing cyclists during peak times in the heart of the Johannesburg city centre. More and more tourists are cycling in areas like Soweto and in many schools where our Department has distributed bicycles as part of the ShovaKalula programme, cycle clubs have been formed and learners enjoy the experience and freedom of cycling. More and better organised cycling clubs have been established, which promote cycling for sporting and recreational purposes. Significantly, an association such as JUCA has on its own accord published a map of cycling routes for daily commuting in selected areas of Johannesburg.
Across the three spheres of government a number of non-motorised transport (NMT) programmes are in operation based on approved policy positions. These include the ShovaKalula Bicycle Programme; the National Scholar Transport Policy; the Pedestrian and Bicycle Facility Guidelines Manual, and the Gauteng Non-motorised Transport Policy. These initiatives are aimed at promoting NMT as mode of choice; reducing excessive congestion and emissions by popularising NMT, and facilitating, co-ordinating and providing NMT infrastructure.
The Gauteng Department’s 25-Year Integrated Transport Master Plan (ITMP25) has noted that whilst government has generally embraced the concept of universal design through governing policies and road standards, the provision thereof falls short and the quality of NMT facilities is lacking. NMT is still mainly considered as an add-on. There are very few examples of consistent provision of NMT as an integral part of the built environment and the transport system. Not all metropolitan and district municipalities have comprehensive NMT policies, strategies and action plans. NMT needs to be adequately accommodated in the built environment in order to change the status quo. Hence, greater emphasis needs to be placed on the need to properly integrate NMT with public transport and land use planning, and to fund NMT infrastructure projects.
In this regard, the ITMP25 makes the following important points:
The development of NMT is a key element in successfully encouraging sustainable, inclusive and integrate Durban transport. Fundamental to pursuing this is the concept of “universal design”, which in essence gives recognition to the fact “that people’s mobility and accessibility are largely determined by the built environment, i.e. the design of buildings, sidewalks, paths, roads and vehicles. Design standards and practices based on the “average” person have led to the exclusion of many. Universal design shifts more of the burden from the individual to the community. Thus, rather than assuming that people must accommodate the built environment, the built environment should accommodate all users as much as feasible.
This approach ties in with our concept of “complete streets”, which breaks down the traditional separation between freeways, public transport, cycling and walking, and instead focuses on the desired outcomes of a transport system that supports safe use of the roadway for everyone. The practical implementation of this concept requires all our road authorities to rethink the road design standards that are currently being applied, which prioritise and favours the private car.
The ITMP25 has identified the following as three key principles to integrate NMT into the road network of Gauteng:
i. Promote NMT as part of a sustainable transport system, e.g. include walking and cycling as a feeder system to all public transport systems;
ii. Redesigning and/or creating a built environment (urban and rural) to inclusively accommodate NMT users according to universal design principles as may be appropriate in terms of social and economic objectives; and
iii. Creating a liveable and sustainable urban environment through ‘complete streets’ approaches and ensuring that the connectivity among different land uses and public transport systems is expanded to be NMT-inclusive.
Finally, the ITMP25 proposes that at a strategic level, NMT infrastructure must be provided in support of public transport routes and all land uses to potentially generate pedestrian and cycling trips. It states that the initial focus areas for NMT infrastructure development should be inner cities, townships and informal settlements, public transport termini and ranks, BRT trunk routes, bus routes, passenger rail stations, and, linking public transport to residential areas and activity nodes such as schools, shopping centres, and parks and recreational areas.
However, determining policy and implementing NMT infrastructure projects on their own will not yield the desired results. The experience in Johannesburg has shown that establishing a “cycling culture” and ensuring that there is proper traffic enforcement is as important as rolling out a network of safe cycling routes. Otherwise, NMT infrastructure will remain fallow and the public will come to believe that money spent of NMT facilities is being wasted.
The final point I wish to make is that NMT programmes can lead to economic opportunities to create jobs and relieve poverty in communities. Some examples are the construction and maintenance of cycle routes and pedestrian walkways; providing security at footbridges and bicycle parking at stations; creating bike storage and repair centres at public transport terminals and in communities; and encouraging local production of bicycles for service provision, e.g. custom-built bicycles for collecting recyclable items in communities.
We believe that NMT has a specific place and role to play in an efficient transport network. Not only does it provide a primary transport mode, it also supplements other transport modes such as rail, bus and BRT operations, reduces the carbon footprint and provides a healthier lifestyle. Furthermore, it creates a more liveable environment by connecting people and communities, thereby creating social integration and cohesion.
I wish to conclude by thanking Ambassador Gerards and the Kingdom of the Netherlands for recently hosting a delegation of government officials from South Africa on a cycle study tour in their country. I have read the report and I believe that there is much we can learn from your experience over the last 50 years. I sincerely hope that our relationship and partnership will be strengthened in the coming years, and that we can transform the urban landscape in the Gauteng city-region. We can and must imagine a different future in our cities. And, we must act now to create that future.
For media enquiries, kindly contact:
Ms Melitah Madiba
Tel: 011 355 7093
Cell: 060 520 1820
E-mail: melitah.madiba@gauteng.gov.za
