Solution helps decongest Sandton CBD traffic

27th November 2015

By: David Oliveira

Creamer Media Staff Writer

  

Font size: - +

Property management company Sandton Central Management District (SCMD) announced last month its sponsorship of uninterrupted power supply (UPS) units, which have been installed to ensure power is maintained at six key intersections in the Sandton central business district (CBD).

SCMD city improvement district manager Elaine Jack tells Engineering News that the almost R1-million sponsorship to the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), which owns and operates the systems, forms part of a pilot project to determine the reliability and feasibility of deploying the technology to maintain traffic flow during scheduled and unscheduled power cuts in central Sandton.

SCMD and the JRA will monitor and compare the solution’s performance against other solutions such as diesel-fuelled generators.

Jack points out that, while deploying diesel- fuelled generator sets could provide a significant amount of power at several intersections during a power failure, the system was not feasible for individual intersections. “For example, it would be uneconomical to use an 18 000 kVA generator to power one set of traffic lights, which needs about 1 kVA to power it.”

However, Jack says the feasibility of using diesel- fuelled generators to power intersections covering a larger area while using UPS systems for individual intersections will be investigated.

She adds that SCMD is also considering green solutions, such as solar power, which has been deployed at a number of Sandton’s intersections since 2008. However, she points out that the significant capital and operating expenses of solar technology significantly impacts on the economics for large-scale deployment of the solution.

Jack says the public and private sectors are working closely through SCMD “to ensure effective, mobility in and around the city”.

Jack points out that all road users and property owners in the Sandton CBD will benefit from this pilot project, but highlights that the ultimate goal is to change commuter behaviour by promoting public transport, which can be achieved only once public transport systems in the area have improved.

“We learnt a lot during the EcoMobility World Festival, which has provided us with valuable insights for future transportation planning.”

The EcoMobility World Festival 2015, which was held in the Sandton CBD during October, aimed to promote transport with little or no carbon emissions and encouraged public transport, the use of bicycles and walking.

The intersections that have been equipped with the UPS systems include West street and Fredman drive, West street and Alice lane, West street and Maude street, Rivonia road and West street, Sandton drive and Alice lane, and Rivonia road and Sandton drive.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION