Cape Town - The City has called on residents and affected parties to comment on the map demarcating the reduced off-street parking requirements for developments in areas with “good” access to the MyCiTi service, minibus-taxis, trains and the Golden Arrow Bus Service (Gabs).
The City of Cape Town proposed to approve a map (plan) which indicates which areas it deems to have public transport areas 1 and 2 (PT1 and PT2 areas) requirements, and to amend annexure C to the development management scheme (DMS) accordingly.
The City said the map shows demarcations of the PT1 and PT2 areas based on comprehensive data about the use of the MyCiTi feeder and express services, Gabs, trains and minibus-taxis.
“Residents and interested and affected parties are requested to participate and submit their comments on, the PT1 and PT2 indications on the map and whether these should be approved by council and whether council should amend the municipal planning by-law (MPBL) to record the plan in annexure C,” said the City.
It said the City’s development management scheme (DMS) stipulated the minimum requirements for off-street parking for new developments.
“The DMS differentiates between areas that are well served by public transport services, and those where residents rely on their private vehicles and thus would need off-street parking.”
The City said the map that is now available for public comment takes into account the impact of scheduled and high-quality public transport on reducing private vehicle use and the subsequent lower demand for parking in areas that are served by these trunk and feeder services, be it a bus, train, or minibus-taxi.
Congress of Democratic Taxi Association (Codeta) and Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) said they were not aware of the proposal by the City.
Codeta spokesperson Andile Khanyi said they were supposed to be informed by the City before it goes to the public, because they were the ones affected the most.
The City said that was in line with its objective to address reliance on private vehicles and to adopt policies that would promote transit-oriented development and walking and cycling short distances, and to improve the efficiency of public transport services.
“By lowering off-street parking requirements, the City can free up valuable space for development. Thus, instead of providing off-street parking bays, developers can opt to use the space for more productive uses.”
Residents and interested and affected parties are encouraged to participate in this process and to make use of the opportunity to submit their comments to [email protected] by January 31.