The Somerset West Driving Licence Testing Station (DLTC) in Victoria Street, Somerset West, which is obstructing the planned realignment of the N2, will be closed and moved to Strand later this year.
The current facility to which access can be tricky during peak traffic periods, is dotted with rubble along its perimeter, has a serious shortage of parking and cannot operate during load shedding, but nonetheless serves the community with convenience and any plans to move it will have a serious impact on the area.
This is according to driving school instructors who say that the vast majority of the community have no idea about these plans. “The City has not presented an alternative and have not communicated to any affected parties about these plans,” bemoaned John Jackson of LL Cool J Driving School.
He said that rumours of the Somerset West DLTC closure were first circulated back in 2009, but the process was stopped following widespread objections.
Jackson contends that since then the City has slowed the planning process to find an alternative location.
“Maintenance of the current facility is already a concern and was worsened during the flooding of last year,” he said. “Only a part of the testing station grounds is obstructing the N2 realignment so to move the entire building is just unnecessary in my opinion. People come to this facility from afar as Grabouw and other areas, and to move it will just increase the inconvenience.”
Jan Kruger, Communications Officer at the City of Cape Town, said representatives of the City’s Traffic Service and its Urban Mobility Directorate attended a meeting with the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) at the end of last year, where it was noted the location of the current DLTC formed part of the N2 road reserve (as per Sanral) and the planned realignment of the N2 will impact on the current DLTC.
“The City’s Traffic Service is in the process of identifying an alternative site for the DLTC,” he pointed out. “This site will be a temporary site until such time that a new DLTC will be constructed in Strand (on the corner of Erika and Main Road).” Kruger added the estimated date to vacate the facility is October later this year subject to Sanral’s implementation.
“The City’s Traffic Service envisages having a seamless transition to a new temporary site to minimise the impact on service delivery to residents and customers.”
Unconfirmed reports say the temporary DLTC will be located on the corner of Main and Aerodome Road, Strand, where the netball courts and skate park are currently located.
The City didn’t address questions related to the public-participation process, if any, and did not divulge details as to why the previous plans to close the DLTC in 2009 were scrapped.
