In a significant development, Sanral earlier this month confirmed their willingness to reconsider the widening of the Brackenfell Boulevard bridge over the N1 to four lanes, contingent on the City providing a firm commitment to widen the Boulevard to four lanes. This while City officials acknowledged the validity of congestion concerns and gave verbal commitment to the Boulevard expansion.
At a meeting held on a fortnight ago, the City indicated a five-to-eight-year completion timeline, with funding to come from new developments.
A steering committee representing affected residents has successfully brought together the two key stakeholders to address mounting concerns over traffic congestion on Brackenfell Boulevard, particularly at the N1 Bridge crossing. Sanral, City of Cape Town under pressure: Community demands better bridge plans
Following an initial stakeholder meeting at Bastion Primary School on September 18, a five-member steering committee was appointed to engage with the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) and City officials. City of Cape Town delays Brackenfell Boulevard upgrade despite Sanral’s N1 expansion
Key players
The committee, convened by Phillip van Zijl from the Tygerberg Business Chamber and including Leon Brynardt, Pierre Germishuys, Madelein Ellis, and Peter Louw, coordinated a crucial follow-up meeting held on October 15 at Sanral offices.
The meeting brought together all key parties, with Sanral represented by project engineer Renaldo Lorio, and a substantial City delegation led by Mayco bember for urban mobility Rob Quintas.
The City team included executive director Regan Melody, director Neil Slingers, manager Tony Vieira.
Ward councillors Gerhard Fourie, Rhynhardt Bresler and Johan Loots also attended. Van Zijl outlined community concerns about current plans that do not include the widening of the N1 bridge to four lanes. Leon Brynard supported the presentation with a visual demonstration of the traffic situation.
Design stage
The City revealed that the Boulevard dual carriageway project is currently in the detailed design stage, with completion timelines to be communicated within the week.
“We regard this as a constructive meeting that took place in good spirit,” said Van Zijl. “We were effective in getting the main role players around a table and securing commitment from both sides that there is a real problem and that they are committed to reconsidering the current three-lane plan.
The steering committee emphasised the need to maintain pressure to keep the issue in the public spotlight as negotiations continue.
