A petition to Cape Town executive Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis is calling for a moratorium on new land-use rights in Brackenfell Boulevard, Vredekloof and De Bron catchment area until a cumulative traffic impact assessment is conducted.
The petition follows the Municipal Planning Tribunal’s approval of the Glengarry Mixed Use Development at 41 Charles Drive, granting a massive development basket of 2 073 residential units and 26 000m² of commercial space.
“Following our ongoing concerns and the Tygerberg Business Chamber’s formal follow-up correspondence to urban mobility Mayco member Roberto Quintas in June, the situation has escalated dramatically,” says Leon Brynard of the Vredekloof City Improvement District.
The City is continuing to approve intensive rights in isolation, completely ignoring the cumulative impact on Brackenfell Boulevard and the N1 bridge.
“Compounding this, we have become aware of the R585 million CapeGate Office Precinct launching in 2027, which will introduce an additional 11 000m² of commercial space and 658 permanent parking bays to our immediate roads without a public participation window,” he says.
“When we layer these two massive projects on top of the imminent opening of the new Bracken Heights High School in 2027, our local road network faces total paralysis. The City is continuing to approve intensive rights in isolation, completely ignoring the cumulative impact on Brackenfell Boulevard and the N1 bridge.”
“The formal 21-day appeal window for the Charles Drive development closed on 9 July, but was restricted only to those who formally objected originally, hence the petition to create pressure on the mayor who acts as the ultimate appeal authority,” says Brynard.
Negative effect on business
The petition calls for the physical dualling of Brackenfell Boulevard from De Bron Road, over the N1 bridge, to Frans Conradie Drive to be included in the City’s immediate capital budget before further development is approved.
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According to the petition, individual developer traffic impact assessments do not reflect the wider network impact. It states that the City should not rely on back-ended developer charges to address regional infrastructure needs.
The petition cites a road-user survey of 4 280 local respondents. It states that 78,1% regard the current bridge congestion as serious and disruptive, while 67,3% say the gridlock has had a “very negative” effect on their daily business productivity.
It further claims that 94% of respondents support an immediate freeze on further approvals until the Brackenfell Boulevard bridge is widened to four lanes. The petition calls for residents and road users to sign and submit their details before the appeal report is finalised.
The buck stops with the mayor. It is time the City aligns its capital budget with our reality.
It states that 94% of respondents support a halt on further development on either side of the N1 until the bridge is widened to four lanes, with two lanes in each direction.
The petition claims that a condition of the Charles Drive approval allows later development phases to proceed based on updated, isolated developer studies rather than actual infrastructure delivery, and thus calls on the mayor to halt clearances beyond Phase 1 of the Charles Drive development until construction of the Brackenfell Boulevard upgrade begins.
It also calls for the publication of a progress report on the budget allocation and design completion for the Boulevard expansion, as well as a binding commitment between the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Government and Sanral to widen the N1 bridge to two lanes in each direction.
Brynard says they need to get thousands of signatures directly onto the Mayor’s desk before the appeal report is finalised. “The buck stops with the mayor. It is time the City aligns its capital budget with our reality.”
To learn more about the petition contact the Vredekloof CID at manager@vredekloof.co.za
