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STATEMENT BY THE CITY’S EXECUTIVE MAYOR, PATRICIA DE LILLE
As an opportunity city, we understand the need for quality roads and their role in ensuring the efficient movement of people and goods.
Over the past five years, the City of Cape Town has invested millions of rands into various road upgrades in communities across the metro because we understand that working roads ensure that economic activity can continue unhampered.
Some of the most recent projects include the R55,4 million upgrade of major traffic arteries in Woodstock, Paarden Eiland and Wynberg.We have also spent R20 million as part of Mayoral Redress projects in Macassar, Bellville South, Phola Park, Scottsdene, Wallacedene, Elsies River, Belhar, Delft and Valhalla Park to implement visible road upgrades and infrastructure projects.
Last year, the City undertook a number of projects to improve roads and public transport infrastructure, with investment to the value of R170 million. This included road upgrades in Grassy Park, Athlone, Gugulethu and Philippi.
In terms of our multiyear roads upgrade programme, it is now the turn of the Bishop Lavis community.
Our investment in the upgrading of roads also underscores our commitment to redressing the wrongs of the past by investing into areas which for many years experienced a lack of investment.
Access to working, quality roads is an integral part of redressing apartheid spatial planning as this ensures that residents can move easily and safely. A quality road network allows people to access opportunities while also ensuring efficient economic activity.
I am indeed excited about the Bishop Lavis project where the City is investing R124 million to upgrade a total of 80 roads in this community.
Work has already started on this extensive project and is expected to be completed in mid-2018.
Teams will rehabilitate and upgrade various concrete and other roads over the next two years.
As a further testament to our commitment to building an opportunity city and empowering residents, during this project more than R2,7 million will be spent on employing local labour through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and work to the value of R3,6 million will be contracted to local businesses.
In addition to the upgrading of the various roads in this community which will bring vast improvements, the City’s Spatial Planning and Urban Design Department is currently working on a draft framework for a Bishop Lavis urban node upgrade plan which seeks to improve access in the area and enhance public spaces and facilities.
This is linked to various other projects under the Mayoral Urban Regeneration Programme.
The Bishop Lavis Town Centre has been identified as an action precinct for prioritised intervention, where the City is looking at regularising existing land patterns so that poorly structured and underutilised publically owned land may be put to more productive use in the interest of the broader public and local community.
The overall precinct plan, which is currently in the design phase, identifies projects for future implementation as and when legal processes are finalised and funding becomes available.
These projects will see further investment into Bishop Lavis that will improve the lives of the community and presents us with more opportunities to continue making progress possible, together.
If given another chance, we will continue to deliver on our commitment to invest into our communities and provide quality roads, public amenities and vibrant public spaces so that we can see greater integration and progress in our city.
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