Councillor's Corner
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| To Advertise In This Space CLICK HERE FOR A FREE QUOTE |
| To Advertise In This Space CLICK HERE FOR A FREE QUOTE |
Lifetime Bluff resident serving his third term in office as representative
of the area. Member of the Democratic Alliance.
of the area. Member of the Democratic Alliance.
This weeks Councillor comments
| Duncan Du Bois |
10 May 2007
Phone:467-0343 or mobile:083 291-4913
Municipal Manager - Dr Sutcliffe: Tel 311-2130 ;
SutcliffeM@durban.gov.za
SutcliffeM@durban.gov.za
Report dumping or unauthorised use of verges; Phone 311-7448
Metro All-Call / All hours Tel No.: 361-0000
Metro Police: Tel 402-0680
Brighton Beach SAPS: Tel 451 8060 / 8059
Brighton Beach Community Policing Forum Chairman: Carl Knauff : 082 449-6503
Metro All-Call / All hours Tel No.: 361-0000
Metro Police: Tel 402-0680
Brighton Beach SAPS: Tel 451 8060 / 8059
Brighton Beach Community Policing Forum Chairman: Carl Knauff : 082 449-6503
Useful Contacts
| South Durban Community Environmental Alliance |
| To Advertise In This Space CLICK HERE FOR A FREE QUOTE |
PROPOSED EXPANSION OF CONTAINER FACILITIES IN THE PORT OF DURBAN:
SUBMISSION ON BEHALF OF RATEPAYERS AND RESIDENTS OF WARD 66 - BLUFF,
CLAIRWOOD, SEAVIEW - BY WARD COUNCILLOR DL DU BOIS
In that the Bluff is a peninsula with limited access, the greatest concerns of its inhabitants
are the effects which port expansion plans will have on that access. Similarly, the residents
of Clairwood are concerned that back-of-port expansion is impacting on them, eroding what
little residential space remains to them.
Currently all three access points to the Bluff, a suburb with over 30,000 inhabitants, are
ringfenced by container depots. One such depot in Edwin Swales VC Dve handles 250
containers daily. The impact of container trucking on these access roads is a matter of
grave concern for a variety of reasons. First, the traffic congestion that results is
troublesome and hazardous. It upsets routines and has led to many accidents as truckers
disregard basic road rules and use their bulk to get their way.
Second, the road network and concomitant infrastructure is being destroyed by the large
and growing volumes of container truck traffic. Road surfaces are buckling, kerbstones are
being dislodged, stormwater drains are being smashed, debris is accumulating in gutters.
Even trees on traffic islands have been damaged by truckers impatient with and indifferent
towards traffic conditions.
Third, the situation of container depots in the vicinity of Edwin Swales VC Dve Is impractical
in that these long, 32 wheel vehicles are all obliged to make 90 degree turns to access and
to exit the depots they service. The construction of bleed-off lanes and the installation of
robots at regular intervals is neither feasible nor is it in keeping with the traffic patterns on
what is classed as an M. class carriageway.
As container traffic grows, so the area south of Edwin Swales VC Dve is being infiltrated by
container depots. These are mushrooming up in Clairwood where the road infrastructure is
hopelessly inadequate for such businesses. Unfortunately here, an attitude of indifference
by the head of the Ethekwini Municipality's Economic Development and Planning unit,
Soobs Moonsammy, is not helping matters. According to Moonsammy,' economic forces'
will determine Clairwood's fate ( stated on December 4, 2006 at 81 Flower Rd Durban). But
a reluctance, indeed a dereliction of duty on the part of Moonsammy, to apply Town
Planning rules should not be allowed to detract from the plight of the residents of Clairwood
and the search for a solution to what is the greatest problem in the South Durban Basin,
aside from environmental pollution, namely, the proliferation of container truck traffic.
It is with great anxiety, therefore, that one reads in The Mercury of May 7, 2007 that
container traffic is expected to continue to grow at a rate of 10 to 15% per annum. Whilst
economic growth is to be welcomed it also needs to be managed.
The plans to expand the port southwards so as to increase Durban's capacity to handle
container shipments will, of necessity, impact massively on the Bluffs already overloaded
and overworked access routes. Such plans, therefore, cannot be implemented without a
critical revamping of thinking on physical access. To be quite blunt: unless transport routes
and methods of transport of containers are radically reconfigured, then we have to tell you
that, as the most numerous of all the stakeholders, we are not on board with your plans for
port expansion.
Nonetheless, it is pleasing to note that the CEO of Transnet, Maria Ramos, appears to
have ideas about freight transport which parallel the idea we should like to put forward.
Writing in Business Report of May 8, 2007 she makes the following remarks: (1) that
transport-related costs need to be reduced; (2) that the country's freight transport and
logistics system must be optimized; (3) she acknowledges the need to invest in new rail
equipment and to ' unlock operational synergies.'
What we propose is that a dryport container depot be established at Cato Ridge; that all
containers bound for Durban harbour or from Durban harbour to the interior, are
transported by rail to and from Cato Ridge. There are significant marshalling yards at Cato
Ridge and ample space to load and unload containers.
A dryport at Cato Ridge is a win-win scenario in that: (1) it will drastically reduce container
traffic on roads within the Metro; (2) that, in turn, will facilitate traffic flow, ease congestion
and improve road safety; (3) it will diminish the extent to which roads and road
infrastructure is being damaged and destroyed by container trucking; (4) it is in line with
Maria Ramos' intention that the rail network be better utilised; (5) it will stimulate job
creation and poverty alleviation in the Cato Ridge area.
We strongly urge that the development of such a dryport is made an integral part of the
proposed port expansion of container handling facilities.
SUBMISSION ON BEHALF OF RATEPAYERS AND RESIDENTS OF WARD 66 - BLUFF,
CLAIRWOOD, SEAVIEW - BY WARD COUNCILLOR DL DU BOIS
In that the Bluff is a peninsula with limited access, the greatest concerns of its inhabitants
are the effects which port expansion plans will have on that access. Similarly, the residents
of Clairwood are concerned that back-of-port expansion is impacting on them, eroding what
little residential space remains to them.
Currently all three access points to the Bluff, a suburb with over 30,000 inhabitants, are
ringfenced by container depots. One such depot in Edwin Swales VC Dve handles 250
containers daily. The impact of container trucking on these access roads is a matter of
grave concern for a variety of reasons. First, the traffic congestion that results is
troublesome and hazardous. It upsets routines and has led to many accidents as truckers
disregard basic road rules and use their bulk to get their way.
Second, the road network and concomitant infrastructure is being destroyed by the large
and growing volumes of container truck traffic. Road surfaces are buckling, kerbstones are
being dislodged, stormwater drains are being smashed, debris is accumulating in gutters.
Even trees on traffic islands have been damaged by truckers impatient with and indifferent
towards traffic conditions.
Third, the situation of container depots in the vicinity of Edwin Swales VC Dve Is impractical
in that these long, 32 wheel vehicles are all obliged to make 90 degree turns to access and
to exit the depots they service. The construction of bleed-off lanes and the installation of
robots at regular intervals is neither feasible nor is it in keeping with the traffic patterns on
what is classed as an M. class carriageway.
As container traffic grows, so the area south of Edwin Swales VC Dve is being infiltrated by
container depots. These are mushrooming up in Clairwood where the road infrastructure is
hopelessly inadequate for such businesses. Unfortunately here, an attitude of indifference
by the head of the Ethekwini Municipality's Economic Development and Planning unit,
Soobs Moonsammy, is not helping matters. According to Moonsammy,' economic forces'
will determine Clairwood's fate ( stated on December 4, 2006 at 81 Flower Rd Durban). But
a reluctance, indeed a dereliction of duty on the part of Moonsammy, to apply Town
Planning rules should not be allowed to detract from the plight of the residents of Clairwood
and the search for a solution to what is the greatest problem in the South Durban Basin,
aside from environmental pollution, namely, the proliferation of container truck traffic.
It is with great anxiety, therefore, that one reads in The Mercury of May 7, 2007 that
container traffic is expected to continue to grow at a rate of 10 to 15% per annum. Whilst
economic growth is to be welcomed it also needs to be managed.
The plans to expand the port southwards so as to increase Durban's capacity to handle
container shipments will, of necessity, impact massively on the Bluffs already overloaded
and overworked access routes. Such plans, therefore, cannot be implemented without a
critical revamping of thinking on physical access. To be quite blunt: unless transport routes
and methods of transport of containers are radically reconfigured, then we have to tell you
that, as the most numerous of all the stakeholders, we are not on board with your plans for
port expansion.
Nonetheless, it is pleasing to note that the CEO of Transnet, Maria Ramos, appears to
have ideas about freight transport which parallel the idea we should like to put forward.
Writing in Business Report of May 8, 2007 she makes the following remarks: (1) that
transport-related costs need to be reduced; (2) that the country's freight transport and
logistics system must be optimized; (3) she acknowledges the need to invest in new rail
equipment and to ' unlock operational synergies.'
What we propose is that a dryport container depot be established at Cato Ridge; that all
containers bound for Durban harbour or from Durban harbour to the interior, are
transported by rail to and from Cato Ridge. There are significant marshalling yards at Cato
Ridge and ample space to load and unload containers.
A dryport at Cato Ridge is a win-win scenario in that: (1) it will drastically reduce container
traffic on roads within the Metro; (2) that, in turn, will facilitate traffic flow, ease congestion
and improve road safety; (3) it will diminish the extent to which roads and road
infrastructure is being damaged and destroyed by container trucking; (4) it is in line with
Maria Ramos' intention that the rail network be better utilised; (5) it will stimulate job
creation and poverty alleviation in the Cato Ridge area.
We strongly urge that the development of such a dryport is made an integral part of the
proposed port expansion of container handling facilities.
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You can contact Councillor D Du Bois by e-mail @ dubois@axxess.co.za