The development of pedestrian-oriented streets is part of the response to problematic conditions caused by the car. This could include a solution of traffic calming while paying attention to the importance of pedestrians.
Research Goal
Therefore, the main thrust of this study would be to determine whether the use of pedestrian and traffic calming measures could be a viable option to address congestion and conflict issues in the city centre.
Research Question
Subsidiary Questions
What are the implications of pedestrianization and traffic restriction for future planning of CaDs in South Africa. To evaluate pedestrian formation and traffic restriction in SA to determine its applicability to Newcastle.
Research Hypothesis
Research Constraints
Definition of Concepts
Vehicles require a lot of space for movement and parking, and require priority traffic, which affects urban form and changes patterns of community continuity, identity and cohesiveness. The overriding priority of vehicles has resulted in extensive and expensive traffic signals in which the pedestrian receives little attention.
Types of Pedestrianisation
Occasional Pedestrian Streets
Overall, the primary focus of the research is to identify ways to try to mitigate the negative impact of the motor vehicle on busy shopping streets. Also included is the analysis of the findings of the pilot conducted in this area, together with its conclusions.
CHAPTER TWO
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
The Essence of the Traffic Problem in Towns
- An Analysis of Traffic in Towns
As pedestrianization was also seen as the most important policy for preserving the historic character of the city, two large pedestrian areas were proposed in the city center. Hadju further points out that traffic-free zones or pedestrian centers had become one of the most important urban problems in West Germany in the twenty years leading up to the mid-1980s.
History of Traffic Calming .1 The Early Years
- The Woonerf
It also involves different restrictive measures against motor vehicles according to the defined needs of the built-up area. It has come to light that pedestrianization can lead to overcrowding in the city center (ibid, 51), which can also lead to littering and uncleanliness, due to the overloading of the pedestrian streets.
Pedestrianisation and Traffic Calming as a Combined Transport Policy
Russell points out that there is clearly a risk that traffic calming appears to be everything to everyone. In the late 1980s there were still relatively few highway examples of traffic calming, but some general observations were possible.
Questionnaires
The questionnaires were administered in the pedestrianized CBO in Pietermaritzburg and along Alien and Scott Streets in Newcastle city centre. However, taking into account the traffic variations during weekdays and weekends, and to achieve a degree of standardization, the periods during which the questionnaires were administered varied very carefully, administering 40% of the questionnaires on weekdays and 60% on weekdays. Fridays and Saturdays when many people come to town.
Interviews
The researcher also relied extensively on existing relevant documents and newspaper articles as well as electronic media. The researcher engaged in a formal participant observation exercise to assess the prevailing situation in the city centre. These traffic counts enabled the researcher to determine the degree of congestion and assess the severity of conflict between pedestrians and vehicles in the CBD.
Data Analysis
The observations also allowed the researcher to assess the area in terms of safety, security, comfort, convenience, accessibility and attractiveness, all of which are performance criteria described in Chapter Two.
Conclusion
This chapter provides an in-depth analysis of pedestrian formation and traffic restriction in South Africa (SA). It attempts to contextualize these pedestrian and traffic calming urban planning schemes to the existing situation in many South African towns and cities. To do this, a number of examples will be discussed where pedestrian and traffic restriction has been adopted as a means of curbing the problem of traffic congestion as well as vehicle and pedestrian conflict in the CBDs.
Historical Development of Pedestrianisation and Traffic Calming in SA
As elsewhere, pedestrianization and traffic calming in SA came as a result of a growing awareness of the importance of preserving the city core (Gruen 1973:158). The Port Elizabeth City Engineers Report (1975:1) states that the pedestrianization of the Port Elizabeth (PE) city center was accelerated by the need to establish a new civic centre, which also stimulated the need to redevelop the CBD. The redevelopment program consisted of an original conceptual drive system, the main objective of which was to find an answer to the problems facing the CBD core at the time.
Pedestrian Areas and Pedestrian Malls in SA
- Cape Town
It is striking that many new real estate developments have been attracted to Randburg due to the city center improvements. Trust Bank Centre, Sanlam Centre, Randburg City and SA Permanent Building Society are among the major private developments to have taken place in the shopping center as a result of the Randburg City Council initiative. A direct pedestrian link from the eastern end of the mall to the Civic Center complex is also provided.
Conclusion
This chapter presents a more focused discussion of Pietermaritzburg Pedestrian Traffic Calming (PMB) based on data collected from secondary sources, including the rationale for implementing the above mentioned scheme, the arguments for and against its implementation and its effectiveness for users. The chapter also presents the findings of a pilot study carried out in the PMB CBD, which would serve as a springboard on which to base pedestrian and traffic calming options in the Newcastle CBD. This exercise provides a clear basis for investigating the successes and failures of traffic calming in PMB.
Setting
However, due to the rapid growth of the city's suburbs and more traffic accidents in the city, a more reliable and efficient solution was deemed essential (ibid.). As part of the PMB 2000 plan, the pedestrian and traffic calming scheme was adopted as a means of solving the traffic problem in the PMB CBD. A number of pedestrian areas were created in the inner core of the city to avoid conflict between pedestrians and vehicles.
Collection of Data
As in many other cities with pedestrianized CBDs, PMB sees insufficient and unaffordable parking as a major problem with the plan. The administration of a questionnaire to users in the PMB was a pilot series that attempted to reveal the effectiveness of pedestrian management and traffic calming in the CBD within a limited time period. Most of the answers to the questionnaires were good and sufficient to continue the study.
Findings
The majority of respondents (47%) rated the plan as being fair in terms of providing comfort to its users. The remaining 30% of respondents rated the plan in terms of convenience as either good (17%) or very good (13%). 34 percent of those questioned rated the attractiveness of the plan as either good (17%) or very good (17%).
Conclusion
- Interviews with Tenants
Introduction
Setting
INY~~'
KWAZULU-NATAL
REGIONAL CONTEXT
AREA'
STUDY
NEVVC1\~)TLE
Collection of Data
These were carried out with two people involved in the traffic and transport study (1999) for the NLC, as well as someone involved in overall traffic management at Newcastle CBO. As noted in Chapter 1, these included shop owners and managers in the area. The researcher conducted a formal participant observation exercise on 27 October 2000 to assess the prevailing conditions in the Newcastle CBD.
Findings
Table 7 above shows that the majority of respondents believe that the proposed plan has a fair chance (37%) of ensuring the safety of the CBD. The majority of respondents (30%) rated the proposed plan as very good in terms of comfort. The remaining forty percent of respondents felt that the proposed plan would provide either poor (20%), fair (10%) or very poor (10%) access to the CBD.
Conclusion
- Interviews with Planners
- Interviews with Tenants
Respondents expressed more advantages than disadvantages that the proposed plan could have for the city, all of which were mentioned earlier in the chapter. Most tenants believe the proposed plan would pose a threat to their businesses. Therefore, most tenants see the proposed plan as a threat to their traffic.
Introduction
Safety
The same experiences could pose serious safety concerns if the proposed Newcastle CBD pedestrian/traffic calming plan could be implemented without taking note of experiences in other towns and cities in South Africa. As the findings made it clear that most respondents, including tenants and planners, believe that safety should be one of the priorities if such a plan is to be implemented, the NLC and stakeholders involved in planning should consider safety as a key component of the plan. and a measure of the successful implementation of the plan.
Security
This is due to the fact that the area is currently experiencing a problem of lack of parking facilities in the CBD. Care must therefore be taken to ensure that all these concerns are taken into account in the proposed plan, before the plan can be implemented. This would also attract more people to the CBD, thereby increasing sales for other shops in the surrounding area as well.
Conclusion
Introduction
Recommendations
It is also important to separate pedestrian and vehicle traffic to make the area safer and therefore more attractive to pedestrians. It is essential for both pedestrians and motorists to be able to interpret a road sign, ie where by-passes are created for re-routed traffic, they must be easily accessible from the pedestrian or traffic quiet area.
Conclusions
One of the main goals of pedestrian arrangements and traffic calming is to make the central area attractive to both users and potential investors. The findings show that the majority of respondents in the area believe that the existing conflict could be reduced if this scheme were used in Newcastle. Thus, the hypothesis that pedestrianization and traffic calming of the CBD could alleviate the existing conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles and increase the aesthetic value of the CBD, thereby attracting more people to the city center, is accepted.
APPENDIX ONE: QUESTIONNAIRES TO USERS
BIYELA
APPENDIX TWO: QUESTIONS TO PLANNERS AND TENANTS
BIYELA
