Non-Motorised Linkages To Public Transport Facilities Case Study: Cape Town Railway Station

Swart, Marli

Non-Motorised Linkages To Public Transport Facilities Case Study: Cape Town Railway Station

Thesis / Dissertation

2023

Abstract

The focus of the research is to identify which criteria need to be applied to improve the NMT infrastructure design for linkages to Public Transport interchanges, by using the Cape Town Railway Station as a case study. The study used best practice international and South African design guidelines to develop design improvements to three existing NMT linkages. A walkability assessment tool was used to audit the linkages and to assist with the identification of where improvements can be made. A literature review of the research topic was done to identify the main challenges for NMT design in South African cities. This was followed by researching the NMT policy environment in South Africa, since the policy environment drives the provision of transport infrastructure (Beukes et al., 2017). The literature review included an investigation of the design criteria to apply to improve the infrastructure for walking and cycling linkages. The criteria was used as an informant to select assessment tools that can be used to audit roads to improve walkability. This was followed by researching some audit tools which can assist with an inter-disciplinary audit of sections of the roads under investigation. Best practice design guidelines, as well as the most used South African design guidelines, were part of the literature review. The research is particularly interested in the NMT linkages to Public Transport facilities. To answer the research questions, a mixed-methods approach containing both qualitative and quantitative data was used. The research aimed to investigate NMT linkages to a Public Transport interchange. The design of the research is based around a single case study, the Cape Town Railway Station, since it is the busiest Public Transport interchange facility in the city in terms of users (CCT, 2022). To test if the Pedestrian First walkability tool (ITDP, 2018) would be sufficient to use, three different NMT routes were identified. The routes include a route which has an existing cycle lane facility, a busy intersection, a NMT route to the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), which is an important link to an education facility, and a best practice NMT route to the Cape Town Stadium. The Pedestrian First, Street-Level Walkability Design Checklist (ITDP, 2018) was used to conduct audits on the selected NMT linkages. This tool does not have criteria for cycling, and three criteria for cycling design were added. Similarly, an addition was made to include nine criteria for security for vulnerable users using the Safetipin app (Safetipin, 2023). This was done to support the challenges experienced by vulnerable users around security. The scores for each section were calculated to identify the areas which achieved a low score, and these sections were identified as the sections that need to be improved. The sections of the route that were identified to be improved were compared to the latest best practice and South African guidelines to develop design improvements. Three main categories for improvement were identified along the routes, namely multi-modal design solutions, which includes the space allocation for different modes in the cross-section, safety for users, particularly at busy intersections, and operations and maintenance of NMT facilities. The available design guidelines were consulted to establish the main design principles that should be applied to NMT facilities. This was followed by a selection of particular best practice design examples from the guidelines to apply to the sections. These examples are compared to the existing provision for NMT and suggestions for improvements were made. Upon reflection of the research questions, conclusions were made. The Pedestrian First Street-Level Design Checklist tool, can be used to test the walkability of a street. Street design is a complex process, and requires an inter-disciplinary team with input from the users of the street. Although the NMT policy in South Africa is well developed, the guideline documents, which are an interpretation of policy, need to be improved. The gaps in providing for cyclists need to be addressed to grow cycling volumes. The NMT design guidelines (NDoT, 2015), is a valuable resource to improve NMT infrastructure provision, and the integration of road and NMT guideline documents into one design guideline should be pursued.

Keywords

Civil Engineering

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