DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK Station building The station building just south of Marlboro Drive is the major element and focal point in the area. The station will be more visible than most other Gautrain stations that are in general integrated in the existing built-up urban fabric. As such, it is important that the design has significant place-making qualities. The station building should have a unique design, with the potential to create a landmark and "icon" for the area. To enhance imagenability, the station should have an open area as reception space in front of the building welcoming people from the south. This should be a human scaled pedestrian space (similar to a station square) as opposed to a vehicular space (e.g. parking area). A kiss and ride facility could be provided, but all parking should be provided in basement structures. Being a landmark and prominent face of the Gautrain initiative, the station should become a destination in itself. Initiatives such as the incorporation of the art of local artists from Alexandra could be incorporated in the station. The establishment of a spectator park for the 2010 World Cup (e.g. on the station square) could also assist in changing a transition space into a destination space. 74
DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK Bridge A bridge connecting the northern area with the station south of Marlboro Drive is proposed. Without such a link, the effectiveness of the station is almost half than what its potential could be. The north south link will thus arguably be the most important element that will determine the optimum functionality and efficiency of the station. The bridge should not only be a pedestrian bridge with a functional design, but should have significant place-making qualities. The most important is that the bridge should have a unique design, with the potential to create a landmark and "icon" for the area, together with the station. Commercial activities could be incorporated in the bridge design to create vitality and interest. The bridge should be wide enough as to be a space in itself (opposed to being a mere link). The walkway should be between 5 and 10m wide and movement should flow gradually and directly from the main spine in the north onto the bridge, over the road and directly into the station building (preferably without going down to street level first). The illustration below indicates that movement should be managed carefully as well as what should not be allowed at the provision of pedestrian bridges. 75
DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK Gateway markers Landmark elements as gateway markers should define the entry points into the precinct to announce the presence of the station at the highways. Districts The Station is supported by various districts. It is important that accessibility to the station is enhanced from all these districts. It is, however, important that the unique characteristics of each of these districts are retained and enhanced (where it is logical from an urban structuring point of view) as it is also through the presence of diversity that city identity is created. The following districts can be identified: Frankenwald: This is the northern district forming part of the Area of Intervention. The focus of this precinct is to provide linkages to the station and to establish an extension of the station precinct in terms of focused densification and intensification. Mixed-use high density development with high pedestrian intensity should be promoted. However, this should not create monotony (high density monotony is worse than low density monotony!) and diversity (in terms of use, built form, intensity and density) should be promoted on the site. 76
DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK Buildings should strive to provide for (transparent) spatial definition everywhere on the site. This will enhance identity and increase security, which will reduce the need for fences and walls. To achieve this, alternative building typologies should be promoted and implemented. Apart for the Green Belt a recreational function (pedestrian and cycle ways) and the mixed-use high intensity Central Spine, other broad land use zones could be incorporated. These include a residential component that should mirror the character of the Kelvin area, an office park mirroring Linbro Office Park and medium density residential infill between these zones. Far East Bank: This is the southern district forming part of the Area of Intervention. Even the latest interventions did not take the prominence of this locality into account. The design also did not provide for the intensities, densities and integration of TOD nodes. Interventions should focus on deliberate actions to integrate the area with the Station Precinct. Buildings facing the residential area should be in line with the scale and fine pedestrian grain at street level (preferably single storey, but maximum 2 storeys) of the houses opposite the street. These houses should be provided with business rights. Buildings can (and should) increase in height closer to the station. Interventions should also focus on transforming an area designed for car-domination with limited spatial definition into pedestrian orientated spaces with a sense of place. To improve pedestrian permeability towards the station walkways should be established with each owner adjacent to the walkway to provide 2,5m from their property. In turn, these owners could get limited business rights in turn. These walkways should flow directly into pedestrian walkways (5-10 wide) into the station. 77
Alexandra has a number of issues relating to basic service provision, yet it has a very unique character and identity. Any interventions in this area should aim at retaining the character through the process, no matter how challenging a task this might seem. Due to the low ownership of cars and the high pedestrian activity, it is important that this area is adequately linked to the station via pleasant pedestrian routes. The area could also benefit through tourism initiatives, especially if the station is regarded as a destination facility in itself. Kelvin is an established quality residential area. The existing character of this area could potentially be retained, but management controls (e.g. strict zoning lines with residential-non-residential interface guidelines) should be in place to enable this. Marlboro South is an area of transition and could easily be redeveloped to incorporated mixed uses and higher density residential developments in order to support the station. Linbro Office Park: This is an established non-residential area. Interventions should focus on management issues to ensure easy accessibility for workers to and from the station. Linbro Park Agricultural Holdings: This district is situated in a prime location with a use that is not compatible with the transition envisioned for the whole are. It is inevitable that this are be redeveloped in order to provide higher densities closer to 78
2. Transportation Framework 2.1 General Although the vision of the area as well as a number of other studies regarding the Marlboro precinct area have made recommendations that suggest improvements to the transportation structural elements in Marlboro, clear and specific interventions are required for this framework. The information provided in the Situational Analysis (Chapter Error! Reference source not found.) of this report, was used as basic input in the identification of problem area and the development of proposals to mitigate these. Firstly, the functional road hierarchy of the precinct were examined and re-evaluated based on: Vehicle volumes (predicted from Marlboro area); Vehicle speeds; Traffic control measures; Surrounding land-use; Pedestrian activities; Pedestrian facilities; Public transport facilities; Mobility function; Accessibility function; Continuity; Traffic control; Providing connectivity; Strategic importance; Apparent road function; Regional importance. The second step was to overlay the hierarchy with all the public transport modes planned to operate within the precinct. Lastly, the information regarding the probable land-use development and the traffic volumes was overlaid. Based on this information, the major pedestrian trip attractors and generators were identified. The required linkages between these were analysed based on the shortest and most convenient routes. The detail there-off may vary, once the actual development takes place, although the principles suggested by this report should be adhered to. Irrespective of the pedestrian requirements, there are also mobility requirements for vehicular traffic. The mobility requirements within the Marlboro precinct reside mainly on Marlboro Road but are 79
expected to increase along Northway Road or its alternative through Frankenwald estate, once development takes place. Error! Reference source not found. shows the homogenous land-use pockets in the vicinity of the Marlboro GRRL. Defined mobility routes are required between these various pockets of land-use to provide for an efficient feeder/distribution system that serves the station. These proposed links, do not need to be continuous but should be refined in more detail once more information regarding the development that will take place in Frankenwald, Modderfontein and Linbro Park is available. The precinct analysis is shown in Error! Reference source not found.. Areas where vehicle/pedestrian conflict would be of concern are highlighted as well as corridors where pedestrian movement should be enhanced through design, as suggested in the remaining sections of this chapter. A key component to the station s success is the facilitation of easy access to the station from Figure 5.3 the north (Frankenwald land). Gaps in terms of pedestrian connectivity between various modes of transport as well as between public transport nodes and land-use parcels were also analysed and additional facilities, specific to the precinct structure were identified and proposed. 2.2 Framework Elements 2.2.1 Reviewing Transport Impact of Development A New approach for reviewing transport Impact of Development Reference was made to the current methodology of assessing the traffic impact of new land-use developments. Owing to the fact that the Gautrain Precincts are fundamentally different from the rest of the urban landscape in terms of land-use densities, availability of public transport services and mix 80
of land-use types, it is unlikely that a blanket trip rate per land-use type will be an appropriate methodology for assessing the impact of land-use developments in these precincts (as is the case for the current methodology). For this reason a departure will be made from the existing trip rate tables and a new framework for assessing the traffic impact of land-use developments within the GRRL precincts will be proposed. The basic premise of the framework rests on the fact that new vehicle trips cannot be accommodated on the road network indefinitely and furthermore, road capacity cannot be increased at the same rate as trip-making demand. For this reason the new framework will focus to a large degree on person trips and to a lesser degree vehicle trips. The requirements surrounding the submissions that has to be made for approval will also change. Land-use developments will in the future still undoubtedly generate private vehicle trips; however, given the current levels of congestion on regional connector routes and distributor and access routes within the Gautrain nodes, the primary transport mode to which person trips are allocated in future must increasingly shift towards public transport modes. The crux of the new framework therefore rest on determining the new mode choice mix or percentage breakdown between private vehicles and the available public transport modes in a precinct. Given the emphasis on public transport, the inclination may be for practitioners to assign an unreasonable percentage of person trips to public transport modes in order to guarantee a successful evaluation and approval of their traffic impact assessment. It would be required that once development has taken place as expected on all the vacant areas such as Frankenwald and Modderfontein, to the point where feasible road upgrades is limited and not desired in the Marlboro GRRL precinct, that in addition to a normal traffic assessment, all development applications (above a certain threshold as suggested in Error! Reference source not found. below) should be supported by a Travel Plan. This requirement is however only foreseen to become a reality for the area after the GRRL station is in place and once Frankenwald and Modderfontein has developed to some extent. Table 1: Suggested Indicative Thresholds for Travel Plans 13 Land use Use/ description of development Size Travel Plan 1 Food retail (A1) Retail sale of food goods to the public food superstores, supermarkets, convenience food stores. 2 Non-food retail (A1) 3 A2 Financial and professional services Retail sale of non-food goods to the public; but includes sandwich bars sandwiches or other cold food purchased and consumed off the premises, internet cafés Financial services banks, building societies and bureaux de change, professional services (other than health or medical services) estate agents and employment agencies, other services betting shops, principally where services are >800 sq. m >1500 sq. m >2500 sq. m 13 Guidance on Transport Assessment, Department of Transport, March 2007 81
Land use Use/ description of development Size Travel Plan provided to visiting members of the public. 4 A3 Restaurants and cafés Restaurants and cafés use for the sale of food for consumption on the premised, excludes internet cafés (now A1) >2500 sq, m 5 A4 Drinking establishments Use as a public house, wine-bar or other drinking establishment. >600 sq. m 6 A5 Hot food takeaway Use for the sale of hot food for consumption on or off the premises. >500 sq m 7 B1 Business Offices other than in use within Class A2 (financial and professional services) Research and development laboratories, studios Light industry >2,500 sq. m 8 B2 General industry General industry (other than classified as in B1). The former special industrial use classes, B3 B7, are now all encompassed in the B2 use class. >4000 sq. m 9 B8 Storage or distribution Storage or distribution centers wholesale warehouses, distribution centers and repositories. >5000 sq. m 10 C1 Hotels Hotels, boarding houses and guest houses, development fall within this class if no significant element of care is provided. Bedroom >100 bedrooms 11 C2 Residential institutions hospitals, nursing homes Used for the provision of residential accommodation and care to people in need of care Beds >50 beds 12 C2 Residential institutions residential education Boarding School and training centers Students >150 students 13 C2 Residential institutions institutional hostels Homeless shelters, accommodation for people with learning difficulties and people on probation Resident >400 residents 14 C3 Dwelling houses Dwelling for individuals, families or not more than six people living together as a single household. Not more than six people living together includes students or young people sharing a dwelling and small group homes for disabled or handicapped people living together in the community. Dwelling unit >80 units 15 D1 Nonresidential institutions Medical and health services clinics and heath centers, crèches, day nurseries, day centers and consulting >1000 sq. m 82
Land use Use/ description of development Size Travel Plan institutions 16 D2 Assemble and leisure nurseries, day centers and consulting rooms (not attached to the consultant s or doctor s house), museums, public libraries, art galleries, exhibition halls, nonresidential education and training centres, places of worship, religious instruction and church halls Cinemas, dance and concert halls, sports halls, swimming baths, skating rinks, gymnasiums, bingo halls and casinos, other indoor and outdoor sports and leisure uses not involving motorized vehicles or firearms 17 Others For example: stadium, retail warehouse clubs, amusement arcades, launderettes, petrol filling stations, taxi businesses, car/vehicle hire businesses and the selling and displaying of motor vehicles, nightclubs, theatres, hostels, builders yards, garden centres, POs travel and ticket agencies, hairdressers, funeral directors, hire shops, dry cleaners TBD >1500 sq. m Discuss with appropriate highway authority The requirement for a travel plan, irrespective of the thresholds suggested in the above table, should be subject to the discretion of the planning authorities of the City of Johannesburg and may even be considered at an earlier stage to prevent the proliferation of roads infrastructure, which in many instances will detract from the attractiveness of using the Gautrain or BRT. Policy for Traffic Impact Assessments in Gauteng The level of detail required by the new policy will ensure that applications consider all issues relevant to the approval of the development within the larger transportation framework. The document has been developed under the auspices of the Gauteng Transport Co-ordinating Committee (TCC) with the City of Johannesburg and the Johannesburg Roads Agency among its member contributors. The policy has the following basic components: The purpose, legal framework and requirements for traffic impact assessments; The application and approval process that will be followed; Requirements pertaining to report levels (thresholds and scales); Detailed requirements pertaining to the content of impact assessment reports. An important addition to the manual is introduction of a Period of Validity. It states that a traffic impact assessment will be valid for a period of 5 years from the date on which the final report is submitted to the municipality. The application for the development must therefore be finalised during this prescribed period. If this period lapses before the application for the development is finalised, a new traffic impact assessment will be required. 83