New sidewalks for Caledon Street
The sidewalks in Caledon Street are to be completely resurfaced to accommodate non-motorised transport (NMT).
The contractor carrying out the current road reconstruction used portions of the sidewalk on both sides of the road as part of traffic management to provide access to properties.
The George Municipality said in a statement that the sidewalks suffered considerable damage, with many of the paving blocks already old and not in an ideal condition. Initially, the plan was to only replace the damaged pavers and repair the sidewalk to the original state. However, given the poor condition of the majority of the paving blocks, as well as damage caused during construction, it is now deemed necessary to replace the full sidewalk surfacing. The original concrete blocks are no longer available on the market and as such it is not possible to simply replace damaged blocks.
Caledon Street forms part of the GO GEORGE bus route and the rebuilding of the sidewalks will be funded by GIPTN (George Integrated Public Transport Network) grant funding, which is subject to universal access principles. According to the GIPTN guidelines, sidewalks should wherever possible be wide enough to accommodate pedestrians and NMT for safety purposes.
George's street infrastructure currently offers very little provision for bicycle lanes. The ideal is to have separate cycle paths as well as separate pedestrian pathways to minimise all possible conflict. The municipality supports the use of sidewalks by all NMT. Discussions with provincial universal access consultants led to the current design being presented. It will also be applied to the Merriman and Mission Street upgrades currently underway.
Material to be used
In Caledon Street, asphalt is the preferred material as block pavers pose a tripping hazard when pavers sag or lift due to roots, dislodging, etc.
As sight impairment is a major consideration when designing for a universally accessible solution, the walking surface is delineated by concrete edge strips on either side of the asphalt sidewalk. The edging creates a clear contrast that is more visible (dark asphalt and light concrete band). Asphalt sidewalks have recently been provided along Nelson Mandela Boulevard and York Street.
The Kraaibosch Roads Master plan, as well as the Welgelegen access road, include the principle of asphalt sidewalks with concrete edge strips.
The George council approved a Universal Access Statement of Intent on 26 February 2016, and any varying standards in different neighbourhoods is not recommended.
Comments
HilLand Environmental Consultants
CC is currently informing residents of the proposed sidewalk upgrade. Send comments to admin@hilland.co.za or call 082 305 5097.