Durban's green transport project rolls forward

The cycle lane which will run on the bridge over the Umgeni River next to the M4 northern freeway is to cost R10 million and a further R6m will be spent on other cycle routes along the beachfront to Botanic Gardens.

Work underway along the George Ellis viaduct.

The city is forging ahead with the multi-million-rand cycle lanes, with further routes to be made known in the coming weeks. The M4 freeway section of the cycle route is still under construction and the date of completion has not been announced - the city had hoped that it would be ready ahead of the COP17 climate change conference.

The M4 lane is just one of the routes that is part of the city's non-motorised transport plans, to eventually link Durban to areas such as Umlazi, Kwamashu and Umhlanga.

Dozens of workers were seen at the site yesterday afternoon and lane closures were causing a traffic build-up.

Carlos Esteves, deputy head of road systems management at the municipality, said the widening of the M4 was projected well before the COP17 climate change conference in Durban in November and December last year, and the R10m price tag was substantially funded from national grant funding and not city funds. The route is not expected to yield any income for the city.

Esteves said the cycle lanes from the beachfront to Botanic Gardens would cost approximately R6m. "Funding for this is substantially from a grant donation from an international donor bank, with Council contributing approximately 30% toward this work," said Esteves.

The funding was partly sourced from the national department of environmental affairs, to promote cycling in the municipality, said Esteves.

The city is still awaiting the outcome of an environmental assessment for the construction of a cycle lane along Riverside Road in Durban North, as there were concerns about the impact on traffic and the natural environment along the Umgeni River bank.

The Independent on Saturday

Posted at 08:58AM Feb 06, 2012 by Editor in Cities and Towns  |  Comments[1]