WORCESTER/WYZERSDRIFT UPGRADE OF 20.7KM OF MAIN ROAD 298 BASIC ASSESSMENT (REF: 16/3/1/1/B2/32/1090/12) COMMENTS ON THE BID, ADVERT AND REGISTRATION

Transcription

1 WORCESTER/WYZERSDRIFT UPGRADE OF 20.7KM OF MAIN ROAD 298 BASIC ASSESSMENT (REF: 16/3/1/1/B2/32/1090/12) ON THE BID, ADVERT AND REGISTRATION (CRR January to August 2013) Comments have been received from the following stakeholders: No Name Organisation Comments received during the announcement of the project 1 Mrs. Anthea Du Preez Rawsonville Bottle Store 2 Mr Andres de Wet Lorraine Private Cellar and 34 Degrees Design 3 Ms Anine du Toit Private capacity and business FUEL ARCHITECTURE & INTERIORS 4 PJ Hamman Elranet One Stop Comments received on the Draft Basic Assessment Report 1 Frans de Villiers Farmer 2 Alana Duffell-Canham Cape Nature 3 Elkerine Rossouw Breede - Overberg Catchment Management Agency (BOCMA) Comments received on the Final Basic Assessment Report 1 Alana Duffell-Canham Cape Nature 2 PJ Hamman Elranet One Stop 3 Frans de Villiers Farmer 4 Ms Anine du Toit Private capacity and business FUEL ARCHITECTURE & INTERIORS 5 Elkerine Rossouw Breede - Overberg Catchment Management Agency (BOCMA) 6 Mr Andres de Wet Lorraine Private Cellar and 34 Degrees Design 7 Mrs. Anthea Du Preez Rawsonville Bottle Store 1

2 RECEIVED DURING THE ANNOUCNEMENT OF THE PROJECT 1 04/09/2012, Mrs Anthea Du Comment Preez, Sheet Rawsonville Bottlestore 2 06/02/2013, Andres de Wet, Lorraine Private Cellar and 34 Degrees Design Direct Business- Ingeval van reen, kan stormwater nie vining genoeg weg loop nie, gevalglik oorstroom, Drankwinkel (Poor stormwater drainage which lead to flooding) Direct Interest- I presented the initial unsolicited design for Van Riebeek Street (Rawsonville) to province in late 2009 and have seen many elements thereof included in AureconGroup s proposed design scheme. As stated in the unsolicited Integrated Transport Plan of December 2009: Rawsonville s main thoroughfare should not be viewed as a provincial road in a small urban setting, but rather as an economic catalytic project. Rawsonville and Breedekloof Wine Valley s main stumbling block to development is the acute lack of a core region. Rawsonville fails to develop due to its poor urban environment, due in part to crumbling infrastructure and pedestrianunfriendly urbanism. Poor urban zoning and building-use is also a contributing factor. This infrastructural upgrade can address the former. The infrastructure upgrade must go hand-in-hand with urban and pedestrian improvements. The town cannot remain hostage to the limitations of utility servitudes, owing to poor planning in the past. If utilities must be moved to extricate the town from this economic Dankie vir u kommentaar. Die stormwater probleem word aangespreek met die opgradering van die pad. (Thank you for your comment. Your comment is noted. The storm water concern will be addressed with the new road design). Your comments are noted and your input is appreciated. The rehabilitation of the road is well supported in the development planning for the region and is expected to serve as a platform to improve the economic situation in the area as well as improve the aesthetics of the town. Zoning and building use considerations fall outside the scope of this project. A sidewalk will be constructed from the school and pedestrian safety will be considered in the design of the intersections and the pedestrian crossings. 2

3 trap, they should be moved. These costs should be undertaken with the aid of BVM, CWDM and if necessary, consultation with Min. Alan Winde's department as province. These costs should be incurred concurrently with the massive rehabilitation of the road, as to minimise disruption and cost. Urban landscaping must also be done by informed companies/individuals, and not left to BVM s departments. Their botanical knowledge and grasp of Winelands aesthetics is lacking. Rawsonville is trying to position itself firmly in the Cape Winelands and not the Karoo. Soft landscaping, using heritage Winelands species, is of paramount importance to inject heritage, identity and seasonal-variance (reflecting the deciduous nature of viticulture) into the town. Urban lighting is unsightly. More details/designs on request. The incorporation of specialist input will be discussed with the Client. 3 25/02/2013 Anine du Toit FUEL ARCHITECTURE & INTERIORS And private capacity I am a property owner in Rawsonville and the set rehabilitation and beautification of the Main Rd including Van Riebeeck street is adjacent to my property erf 172 Rawsonville, 40 van Riebeeck Street. Thank you for your inputs, your comments are noted. Concerns / suggestions or potential impacts that should be investigated during the BA 1. The current pavement encroaches on my property and I have been corresponding with The Breede The road is currently designed to be upgraded on its existing location. Although the sidewalk falls within the municipal jurisdiction it will possibly be reconstructed with new block 3

4 Valley Municipality for many years now regarding this without any success. The current pavement encroaches about 1,45m onto my property. I see no mention of this in the report. Supporting documents (Land surveyors cards etc, title deed was provided to the Breede Valley Municipality stating these claims and they have not disputed that it is my property. The same scenario happens down the road from me where the Doctor s rooms are, and the road was narrowed there (without parking spaces both sides of the road) to accommodate this. I would appreciate it if consideration is given to do the same with my property, as it is one of the older houses in town and a narrowing in the road here would cause traffic to slow down, which is quite necessary as we have the school hostel and school opposite the road from me. My intention would be to use this area (1.45m ) as a green area in front of the house to minimise noise levels. At this stage my house s windows vibrate each time a heavy vehicle passes which is clearly not good for an old building. (build in 1943). Please confirm the way ahead here. 2. Rawsonville is a country side town and we pay rates and taxes for this luxury however the amount of vehicles especially heavy vehicles using this main road as a detour has a serious impact on noise levels and paving to improve the town s aesthetics and address other issues. After discussions between yourself and the Engineering consultants your case was discussed with the Provincial Government. Whether the sidewalk in this location falls within the proclaimed road reserve is still to be resolved. Comment noted. As discussed above. Speed mitigation measures are being considered with the final design. 4

5 traffic. Speeding is a major problem in this road and though a few stops were introduced in the past years it is not a successful means of regulating speeding. As a community we have requested council on numerous accounts to investigate the introduction of speed bumps in Van Riebeeck Street and crossings in front of the school. We love our children yet many were killed in the same road over the decades, and nothing seems to get done regarding this. The amount of heavy vehicles/weight should be regulated. Using of air breaks in the street should be prohibited due to the fact that it is mix of residential and business properties in Van Riebeeck street. There are not enough crossings to accommodate the pedestrians in town in order to cross this road safely. 3. Another concern is the lack of trees / green areas in the main road. The main road is currently an sore-eye compared to the rest of town, and compared to places similar in size. Introducing trees / green areas will reduce noise levels and beautify the road, which is much needed in Van Riebeeck Street. 4. Current proposal does not make any provision for disabled / people in wheelchairs. We would like to see this This will be considered in the speed mitigation measures of the design. There are also measures to reduce noise during construction included in the Environmental Management Programme (EMP). Please note that construction vehicles will adhere to speeds of 60 km/h or the speed limit (whichever is lower). Comment noted and will be addressed within the final design. This will be addressed with new sidewalk areas and crossing areas that consider universal access. 5

6 included in the report as it regulation that special needs be catered for i.e. ramps at sufficient gradients for wheelchair and less able pedestrians. The uneven surfaces of pavements are a huge obstacle that should be rectified during the upgrade phase. 5. Entrances to Rawsonville are badly lit and the road shoulders for pedestrians and cyclists are not sufficient. It would be appreciated it consideration could be given for a stretch of raised pavements to protect them from being knocked over. Again we are a small town and we have enormous pedestrian traffic on weekends, as this is most people s only way of getting to / from town. We appreciate your time and input. Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me. Your comment is noted. The shoulders of the road will be widened which will accommodate cyclists and sidewalks will be added on sections of the road where there is a lot of pedestrian movement. Kind regards, 4 25/02/2013 Comment sheet PJ Hamman Elranet One Stop Anine du Toit 1. Hoe sal toegang tot my besighede verkry word. Dankie vir u kommentaar. Daar sal stop-ry beheer toegepas word en konstruksie voor u besighede sal so gou moontlik voltooi word. (How will I/clients gain access to my business) (Thank you for your comments. There will be stop-go measures implemented and construction outside businesses will be completed as quickly as possible). 2. Die werk aan van Riebeeck str sal n tydelike negatiewe invloed op my Die meerderheid is voetgangers en hulle sal nog steeds toegang kan verkry tot u besigheid. Die konstruksie reg voor besighede sal so spoedig moontlik afgehandel word. 6

7 besighede he. (The construction of Riebeeck street will have a negative influence on my business) 3. Sal verkies dat die werk voor my besighede voor my seisoentyd d.w.s desember klaar sal wees. (Prefer that construction in front of my business is completed before the peak season December). (The bulk of traffic is pedestrian and they will still be able to access your business. Construction periods directly outside of businesses will be kept as short as possible). Die konstruksie word opgebreek in fases oor n tydperk van 2 jaar en daar sal sover moontlik probeer word om die ongerief so min as moontlik te hou vir al die betrokke partye. (Construction will be phased over a two year period and best efforts will be put forward in terms of minimal disruption to all affected parties). Hierdie kommentaar is van kardinale belang vir al die besighede in die dorp en sal effektief moontlik aangespreek word om te verseker dat die impak minimaal is. (The concern raised here is of extreme importance to all business through town and will be addressed as effectively as possible to ensure the impact is kept to a minimum). 7

8 RECEIVED ON THE DRAFT BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT 1 23/05/2013 Frans de Villiers Farmer Ek boer beide kante van die nuwe pad wat gebou gaan word in RAWSONVILLE. Dankie vir u kommentaar. Neem asseblief kennis dat die pad waarna u verwys eintlik n bestaande pad is en nie n nuwe pad nie. Die pad sal gerehabiliteer en opgegradeer word om die bestaande en toekomstige verkeer the akkommodeer sowel as om die veiligheid van die pad te bevorder. (I currently farm on both sides of the proposed new road in RAWSONVILLE). Graag wil ek weet of jul die boere met jul planne gaan inlig. Hoe wyd die pad gaan wees,of jul ons slote in pype gaan sit, hoe duk die pype gaan wees, word ons lyndrade afgebreek ens. (Thank you for your comment. Please note that the road in question (Main road 298) is actually an existing road, and not a new road. The road will be rehabilitated and upgraded to accommodate existing and future traffic as well as improve the safety of the road). Neem asseblief kennis dat agt (8) terrein kennisgewings op gerig was langs die pad en dat n koerant advertensie geplaas was in die Worcester Standard op 17 Januarie 2013 om die publiek in kennis te stel van die projek. Die verslag was beskikbaar gemaak vir n periode van 40 dae aan die publiek om kommentaar te lewer op die projek vanaf 27 Mei 2013 tot en met 08 Julie Die finale verslag sal dus ook beskikbaar gemaak word vir verdere kommentaar. Die pad gaan wyer gemaak word en die konstruksie werk gaan tot die bestaande padreserwe beperk word. Die bestaande slote langs die pad sal behou word en dit gaan nie in pype gesit word nie. Om die bestaande slote te behou gaan die kante van sommige slote met Loffelstein stene gebou word wat sal toelaat dat die pad wyer gemaak kan word. Indien enige lyndrade tydens die konstruksie van die pad beskadig word sal dit tot die oorspronklike kondisie herstel of vervang word. 8

9 (I would like to know whether you will involve the other farmers in the area affected by the proposed new road with regards to your plans and processes surrounding the construction of the new road. They would like to know the width of the proposed new road, whether the new road will have its own storm water pipes; how thick the storm water pipes are going to be; and whether the construction of the new road will result in the removal of their existing boundary fences). (Please note that eight (8) site notices were erected along the route and a newspaper advert was placed in the Worcester Standard on 17 January 2013 notifying the public of the proposed project. The Draft Basic Assessment report was made available for public comment for a period of 40 days from 27 May 2013 to 08 July The final report will be made available for further comment as well. Please note that all road upgrades will occur within the existing road reserve. The existing side drains will be maintained and will not be replaced by pipes. In order to maintain the existing side drains the sides of some of the drains will be constructed with Loffelstein bricks. This will allow for the widening of the road. If any of the fences are damaged during construction if will be repaired or replaced to the original condition. My dreineering vertak in n sloot wat langs die pad loop. Daar is gewoontlik sand ens. wat saam met die water afkom. Tans kan ek net die sloot met n 3 ton slote grawer uitskep. As nie sloot in n pyp gaan kom, om sodoende die pad wyer te maak, sal daar sand in die pyp opbou en groot probleme vir my veroorsaak. Dankie vir u kommentaar. U kommentaar sal in ag geneem word tydens die finale ontwerp fase. (My drainage lines run into the canal which runs alongside the road. The canal usually has heaps of sand in it and I can only empty the canal with a 3 tonne tractor. If the storm water pipe is to be placed in the existing canal, it will fill with sand which will cause numerous problems). (Thank you for your comment. This shall be taken into consideration during the final design phase). 9

10 2 19/06/2013 Alana Duffell- Canham Cape Nature Ek vra net dat jul met elke boer wat geraak word, kontak maak. (I hereby request that you please involve all the other farmers in the area on the project). CapeNature would like to thank you for the opportunity to comment on this proposed activity and wish to make the following comments: 1. Main Road 298 passes through several sensitive areas including wetland areas which have been determined as aquatic Critical Biodiversity Area as well as Breede Alluvium Fynbos which is considered to be a Critically Endangered vegetation type. 2. However, we notice that widening of the road will be limited to certain sections of the road with the sections of road requiring the most widening being situated closer to the urban areas. 3. Overall, we are of the opinion that Main Road 298 is essential infrastructure which is in need of being upgraded. We are satisfied with the findings and recommendations made by Neem asseblief kennis dat die publieke konsultasie proses gevolg is volgens die OIB-regulasies van 2010 en soos ooreengekom met die Wes Kaap Departement van Omgewingsake en Beplanning. Indien u wel enige kontakbesonderhede het van die grondeienaars wat u wil hê ons moet kontak, stuur asseblief hul besonderhede deur na ons toe. (Please note that the public participation process has been conducted in terms of the EIA regulations of 2010 and as agreed with the Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEADP). Should you have any contact details of landowners that you would like us to contact, please forward them on to us). Thank you for your comments. The mitigation measures stipulated by the wetland specialist have been incorporated into the Draft Environmental Management Programme (EMP), which will form part of the environmental authorisation. 10

11 3 19/07/2013 Ms E Rossouw Breede - Overberg Catchment Management Agency ( BOCMA) the wetland specialist and all mitigation measures provided by the specialist should be considered essential conditions of authorisation. These measures are described in detail on pages 20 to 22 of the wetland study report and there is no need to reiterate them here. We also support the recommendation that any wetland areas which are disturbed during construction are fully rehabilitated. This as well as post construction monitoring to ensure the success of the rehabilitation should be included in some detail in the EMP. This should be done with input from a freshwater/wetland specialist. 4. Lengthening of culverts at stream crossings may help to improve stream flow in the long term but we support a freshwater specialist being on site when construction activities require any flow diversion in any of the streams. Construction across watercourses should preferably be done in the dry season to minimise disturbance to natural flow regimes. 5. Cape Nature reserves the right to revise initial comments and request further information based on any additional information that may be received. The draft Basic Assessment Report (BAR) with specialist report dated 24 May 2013 and submitted to the BOCMA for comment: Please refer to Section of the Draft EMP which addresses rehabilitation. Thank you for your comment. A freshwater specialist will be appointed during construction when it is found necessary to do so in the opinion of the ECO. Construction across a watercourse will be limited to the dry season where it is found necessary to do so in the opinion of the ECO. Thank you for your comment. Your comment is noted. 11

12 BOCMA reviewed the document after several ed correspondence and a site visit conducted on 18 July 2013 and confirms it support of the project. The BOCMA considers the application to fall within the scope of existing lawful water use as stated in the National Water Act, act ,section

13 RECEIVED ON THE FINAL BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT 1 31/07/2013 Alana Duffell- Canham Cape Nature ( ) 2 01/08/2013 PJ Hamman Elranet One Stop ( ) Thank you for providing Cape Nature with an opportunity to comment on the Final Basic Assessment Report for this application. We do not wish to make any additional comments. No further comment on the CRR or the Final Basis Assessment Report. Thank you for your comment. Your comment is noted. Thank you for your comment. Your comment is noted. 3 02/08/2013 Frans de Villiers Farmer ( ) 4 02/08/2013 Anine du Toit Private capacity and business Fuel Architecture & Interiors ( ) 5 08/08/2013 Elkerine Rossouw Breede Overbergt Catchment Management Agency (BOCMA) ( ) Alles in orde. Baie dankie vir die terugvoering, dit word opreg wardeur. All is in order. Thank you very much for the feedback provided. It is highly appreciated. We acknowledge receipt of the above notification with our comments listed in the CRR. Please advise when a final design will be proposed prior to construction. We would like to call for a public meeting in Rawsonville where the final design proposal can be discussed with the community. The BOCMA considers the application to fall within the scope of the existing lawful water use and stated in the National Water Act, act , section 34. The BOCMA notes that the concerns regarding the wetland areas and crossings are responded on adequately. Dankie vir u kommentaar. U kommentaar is opgemerk. Thank you for your comment. Your comment is noted. Thank you for your comment. Your comment is noted. Please note that the engineers on the project will communicate with the community once the designs have been finalised and are available to the public. Thank you for your comment. Your comment is noted. 13

14 6 12/08/2013 Andres de Wet Lorraine Private Cellar and 34 Degrees Design ( ) 7 12/08/2013 Anthea Du Preez Rawsonville Bottle Store (Telephone) An addendum for the public participation process. It may be a bit early, but if it s complete, there is no harm in adding it to the public recommendations at an early stage. I will be in contact with Jaco at Aurecon Group, closer to the time of sending out landscaping to tender. See the PDF attached for a concise description of the status quo and ideas to facilitate Rawsonville place-making alongside the infrastructural improvement project. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Final Basic Assessment Report. I have no further comments to make. Thank you for your comment. Your comment is noted. The design engineers on the project will be in liaison with you once the project designs have been finalised. Thank you for your comment. Your comment is noted. 14