GLENGARRY DEVELOPMENT – Mixed-Use Precinct

An Application for rezoning, subdivision, approval of phasing, city approval and consent is an the table for ± 2,073 housing opportunities.

Closing Date for Comments and Objections – 18 April 2024

 

Please study the application that is available on the City’s website at the link at the bottom of this page.

TRAFFIC IMPACT

Again, the biggest concern will be the impact of the additional traffic that this and other developments, will have on the already overly congested road network.

An additional right- or left turn lane at an intersection is definitely not the solution. The only solution will be to remove the bottle neck which is the biggest contributor to the congestion.

Excerpts from the application of interest

CONTEXTUAL OVERVIEW

• Sewerage: Problems regarding capacity in the Northern District is in the process of being addressed.
  • We still experience problems!” – VCID

LOCALITY, ACCESSIBILITY & TRANSPORTATION CONTEXT

• R300 Extension: Both WCG and SANRAL are currently busy with the planning of the future extension of the R300 to the north of the N1.
  • “The proposed plan in our possession indicates only an On- and Off-Ramp on the northern side of  De Bron. De Bron will go over the R300 to link at Eversdal. The impact during construction will have a huge impact on traffic.” – VCID
• N1 / Brackenfell Boulevard: SANRAL plans to upgrade the N1/Brackenfell Boulevard interchange in the near future, by widening the existing bridge and improvements to the terminal intersections. Based on discussions with SANRAL there is a possibility that the N1 on-ramp at the northern terminal at the N1/Brackenfell Boulevard interchange may be removed in future due to the substandard spacing along the N1 between this on-ramp and the outbound N1 Off-Ramp at the Okavango interchange. This will result in a redistribution of eastbound traffic to De Bron Road and Frans Conradie Drive.
  • “All of the above were confirmed at meeting with the Project Manager at SANRAL. The “redistribution of eastbound traffic” won’t relief congestion but rather displace traffic to the Okavango Bridge which is at times also very congested!” – VCID 
• Public Transport: There are public transport services available along the major roads in the site vicinity.
  • “Definitely not enough and needs upgrading.” – VCID

SURROUNDING LAND USES, ZONINGS AND CHARACTER OF THE AREA

• Schools: The local area includes a number of schools within 2km from the site. These include the Curro Durbanville private school in Sonstraal Heights, the newly developed Vredekloof Primary School to the south, and Stellenberg High School as well as Eversdal and Gene Louw Primary schools to the west. There is also an undeveloped school site (zoned Community Zoning 1) adjacent to Fairtrees Road in Amanda Glen. The local area is therefore well-served.
  • “Most schools are already filled to capacity and more!” – VCID 

THE DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS

The proposed basket of rights for the development can be summarised as follows:

• 2 073 residential opportunities
• 31 400m² floor area for business (including retail)
• 4 100m² floor area for institutional

ACCESS AND ROAD NETWORK

The development will be served by the following road access points from the existing roads and internal roads:

• Verdi Boulevard South: Access from De Bron Road via the road section constructed as part of the Glengarry shopping centre development.
  • “This at the current Vredekloof / De Bron intersection at Glengarry. It will become much more congested!” – VCID
• De Bron Left-in: A left-in access to Portion 68 can be provided should the land use on the site justify the implementation. The final position will be subject to detailed design.

DEVELOPMENT PHASING

The development will be phased to ensure the coordination of services implementation with the uptake of development rights, thereby facilitating a feasible project whilst protecting the interests of the surrounding community.

“All major road infrastructure upgrades on Brackenfell Boulevard and De Bron should be finalised before the development can commence! All other infrastructure upgrades should also be phased ahead of development” – VCID

Northern District Plan (Jan 2023)

District Level Classification – New Development Area: Brackenfell Boulevard is identified as a lower order (high frequency public transport routes) development route along which land use intensification is encouraged.

“NB – The route must be able to accommodate the traffic of all development along the route! – VCID 

Traffic Impact

A Traffic Impact Statement was prepared for the development application by the project traffic engineers, ITS Engineers. Based on the findings of this report the following conclusions and recommendations are made:

• 2023 Existing Traffic: Most intersections operate acceptably with capacity constraints being experienced at four intersections:
  • Langeberg Road / Brackenfell Boulevard (Int 10)
  • Belami Avenue / Brackenfell Boulevard (Int 12)
  • Goede Hoop Street / N1 Off-Ramp / Brackenfell Boulevard (Int 20)
  • Eversdal Road / Hebron Road (Int 23)
• Background Traffic: The planned Eastglen, Glencrest, Glenwood, Welgemeend and future Vredekloof Primary School development trips were included in the Background analysis. The following intersection will operate at capacity during the a.m. peak hour:
  • De Bron Road / Verdi Boulevard / Vredekloof Road (Int 9)
• Development Trips: The full development will generate 1 621 weekday a.m. peak hour trips (591 inbound/1 030 outbound) and 2 121 weekday p.m. peak hour trips (1 216 inbound/906 outbound).
• Site Access: Access to most of the parcels within the development is proposed via a new public road network within the proposed development. Verdi Boulevard can in future be extended from the existing Glengarry Shopping Centre to the north up to Momento Drive. A new Class 4 link road is also proposed from Verdi Boulevard towards the east up to Brackenfell Boulevard at the future Tritonia Drive intersection. Access to the different properties is proposed off these public roads. A left-in is also proposed to the proposed GB2 site off De Bron Road approximately 180 meters to the west of Brackenfell Boulevard.
• Total Traffic: The Development Charges for the proposed Glengarry development will provide the funding for the implementation of the required road upgrades. The high-level cost estimate for all the external road upgrades can be in the order of R72 600 000 excluding VAT.
• The proposed development will be implemented in phases and the external road upgrades will therefore be implemented as the development charge funds becomes available with the different phases.

RECOMENDED ROAD UPGRADES

Please refer to pages 65-68 of the application for the proposed upgrades.

NB – “Nowhere are they proposing the dualling of Brackenfell Boulevard. SANRAL confirmed that they will widen the bridge on condition that the City widen Brackenfell Boulevard on both sides of the N1” – VCID

TIA vs TIS

It is important to understand the difference between a TIA (Traffic Impact Assessment) and a TIS (Traffic Impact Survey/Study/Statement)

A TIA is an assessment which involves a physical count of vehicles and an analysis of que lengths etc. Whereas a TIS is just statement or in some instances an update of a previous TIA. As can be seen from the above, all of the TIA’s are old and with some developments already completed, a new COMPREHENSIVE ALL INCLUSIVE TIA WILL BE REQUIRED FOR A DEVELOPMENT OF THIS MAGNITUDE !

DOWNLOADS

• APPLICATION FOR REZONING, SUBDIVISION, APPROVAL OF PHASING, CITY APPROVAL AND CONSENT
• Guidelines on submitting objections / comments on land use applications, or to make oral submissions
• Land Use Objection Form or
  • click here for the VCID online Comment / Objection form 
  • select what is relevant and add your own comments under “other”
• City of Cape Town Municipal Planning By-law, 2015