The Gordon’s Bay Residents Association together with business and home owners have objected outright to a notice calling for public comment on the proposed access alterations to the MR108 in Gordon’s Bay.
“It’s disingenuous to think that the community will accept changes to the intersection that will negatively impact residents. The school, several businesses and even a shopping centre will all be inconvenienced, and many businesses will suffer major losses. It’s just not a practical solution,” said the owner of Ooskus Fisheries, Raymond Goldberg. His business will lose all five of their parking spaces, alongside that of Gordon’s Bay Public Library, a real-estate company, special-needs school and a church, all in Watt Street, which will lose 15 parking spaces in total. Access to the premises will also be restricted from Sir Lowry’s Pass Road, which means customers will be severely inconvenienced, which is bad for business.
The Western Cape Government commissioned project is to upgrade the MR108, also known as the Sir Lowry’s Pass road, which runs between the N2 and Faure Marine Drive. According to the notice, “the condition of the road pavement has deteriorated and needs urgent reconstruction and improvement to accommodate existing and future traffic. The MR108 is classified as a class 2 major arterial road, connecting the N2 and Gordon’s Bay to the coastal towns of Kleinmond, Hermanus and Gansbaai. The road will be widened from a single carriageway to a dual carriageway, with dedicated Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) facilities to improve overall mobility, safety and reduce travel costs for road users. Additionally, various intersections and access points will be revised to meet the standards required for a major arterial road and enhance traffic flow.”
“We are not against development and planning to accommodate for growth,” Goldberg said. “We want this, but there are alternatives to the plan that are now being proposed. We engaged with an official months ago, explained our concerns to him and even prepared a 10-minute video to visually show the impact proposed changes would have on the entire area and not just our business. There were alternative proposals, which we supported, but to our surprise it seems that the alternatives are now not being considered.”
Edwina Hadfield, chairperson of the GBRA, said the association did not accept the current plan, and has strongly encouraged the community to totally object as there “has been no participation and or meetings with residents.
“Yes, a consultant met with businesses, met with those where they had to re-appropriate land, long before they put it out to the public. Is that fair? The number of people and the effect on business is huge, this plan is totally flawed, and has not taken the residents or business owners into consideration at all. We object and urge all residents to do the same. The inconvenience to all, not even taking into consideration the traffic that enters and leaves the school on a daily basis, does not bode well with residents, business and the GBRA.”
Some of the proposals include thoroughfare restrictions in Avondrus Street, where only left-in and left-out turns will be allowed. Along Lancaster Road direct access onto Sir Lowry’s Pass road will be restricted, and in Boundary Road direct access to Sir Lowry’s Pass Road will also be restricted from the northern leg, and left-in, left-out on the southern leg will be allowed. A roundabout is proposed for Faure Marine Drive to facilitate U-turns for restricted right turns, and direct access to Sir Lowry’s Pass Road will also be restricted from Watt Street.
Ward 100 Councillor, Sean Stacey, said that he was aware of some objections and unhappiness. but cautioned that this did not reflect the views of the entire community.
“The meeting was called by the GBRA and not the relevant sphere of government, so those present and their comments cannot be taken as the general feel of the public nor can it be used as a yardstick to measure support as that meeting doesn’t count as proper public participation,” he said, adding that the only true way to have an indication of public support would be to have a referendum.
“The correct channel is to submit comments directly to the email given for public comment. I’m not saying that those objecting against this development don’t have a point to their issues. But again that is only one side of the coin,” said Stacey. “It may very well be that although some businesses and road users may be negatively effected, the greater benefit to society is greater than the loss or harm caused. I’d encourage all residents whether for or against the proposal to please submit their comments so that a true reflection of public opinion could be ascertained”.
The Western Cape Government Department of Infrastructure encourages residents and interested and affected parties to submit written comments on the proposed design. Comments should be addressed no later than Friday 8 September 2023 to facilitate the review and finalisation of the design.
Queries regarding this matter should be referred to: Zutari Engineering Consultants, David Stephenson, email MR108.Ext.Upgrade@zutari.com.
