Investigation and gap analysis of selected cycling upgrades in Cape Town and the new NMT facility guidelines

Abstract

Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) in South Africa is currently a marginalised mode of transport with the implementation of NMT facilities being of a low standard and demonstrating little consistency in terms of design and adhering to standards. The Pedestrian and Bicycle Facility Guidelines (2003) have recently been updated and expanded upon by the Department of Transport, to form the new NMT Facility Guidelines (2014). The update of the guidelines was seen as necessary in order to address recently acknowledged challenges and gaps that were identified since the drafting of the 2003 guidelines. The gap analysis, which was done during the NMT Facility Guideline update, as well as an analysis of recent infrastructure implementation in the City of Cape Town, forms the basis of this study. As NMT facilities implementation, using the revised NMT Facility Guidelines (DOT, 2014), has not commenced yet, the recent upgrades to Military Road Corridor in Cape Town will be used as an example of NMT facility upgrades. Data regarding volume, velocity and customer Level of Service (LOS) was collected and used. This paper reports on the key findings and the challenges that still need to be addressed.