Transport

CAPE TOWN STATION’S MAKEOVER ON TRACK

An improved public-transport system will be one of the most important legacies of the 2010 World Cup Soccer and the upgrade of Cape Town Station is proving to be the biggest surprise, discovers Katja Hamilton.

The Cape Town Station is undergoing a complete facelift from now until 2015 and will be transformed into a world-class public transport node. 

“The station will first and foremost remain a railway service – an interface with taxis and long-distance buses. However, the renovation will include numerous other elements and new features, including a transport museum, a travel agency, a bureau de change, an internet café, a local crafters’ market, fast-food outlets, a small conference venue and medical services. Also, Cape Town Tourism plans to open a visitors’ centre at the station,” said the project manager at Intersite, Pierre Cronje.

Alterations on the station building began in September 2008 and will see the station refurbished with four key target areas in mind: operational efficiency, aesthetics, safety and security and integrated communications.

“The portion of work to prepare the station for the World Cup will be finished by the end of June but we are not stopping there – the refurbishment and revitalization of the station is planned to continue after 2010 with a team of highly creative professionals working on the development,” said Cronje.

Phases 1 and 2 of the R400m construction have been completed. They include the upgrade of the Strand Street and Adderley Street retail and food court. Already ticket booths have been constructed at each side entrance of the station, and the existing ticket booths have closed.

This month sees the start of phases three and four. Phase 3 will see the station forecourt converted into an open public plaza complete with new paving, remodelled shopfronts and restaurants on its fringe. It is expected that by next year this public space will serve as a platform for the roll-out of an annual calendar of events including live shows and product promotions.

Phase four of the revamp will see the completion of the Old Marine Drive retail component, which will be transformed into a creative public square. It is expected that “Blackie”, the locomotive that has stood on the Main Concourse since 1959, will become a centrestage attraction there once the square’s refurbishment is complete.

The buildings looking down on the square will house a museum – tracing the history of Cape Town Station – as well as offices and retail outlets.

Already the existing storefronts are being remodeled with glass-box facades. Negotiations are underway for Cape Town Tourism to be the square’s anchor tenant.

Post-2010 will see the main concourse completely transformed. The ablution blocks will be revamped and expanded and a nerve centre set up providing an integrated communication hub for commuters to acquire information on all types of public transport in Cape Town from trains, to buses and taxis, and to have their finger on the pulse of developments on routes and fares.

“Cape Town Station will be on par with train stations in London and New York. While the station will be a first-world facility it will still retain an African flavour and visitors will be able to shop for Proudly South African goods and enjoy local entertainment,” said regional manager of Intersite, Lindelo Matya.

Said Cronje: “Cape Town Station will be a world-class railway station. The experience of a visitor moving through will be safe and clean with retail services and information to complement the travel experience.”

For artist impressions courtesy of Pierre Cronje at Intersite, go to:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=159332&id=524731206&saved#!/album.php?aid=159332&id=524731206

AMPLE PARKING AT CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Deidre Hendricks

International passengers arriving at the airport now have access to the new terminal and all its amenities thanks to the beefed up infrastructure at Cape Town International Airport.

To this end, the Airports Company South Africa, Cape Town International Airport (ACSA CTIA) opened the third and fourth floor of Parkade 1 located near the International Terminal, as well as the link between the International Arrivals and the new Central Terminal Building (CTB).

The International and Domestic Open Shaded Parking will be separated and will be known as Open Shade Parking 1 and Open Shade Parking 2.

The third and fourth floor of Parkade 1 makes available an additional 1600 parking bays, and the entire parkade is earmarked to be complete in March 2010 with 4000 parking bays in total.

The link between the International Terminal and the Central Terminal Building (CTB) routes airport users to the ground floor of the CTB, allowing them access to more retail and restaurant options and facilitating them to the Transport Plaza and the Central Car Rental facility both scheduled to be opened by the end of March.

As part of the final plan for the airport, the open shaded parking will be separated, as of this Wednesday (10 February); there will be two entrances to the open shaded parking, one close to Parkade 1 and the other at the far end of Parkade 2 near the existing car rental area.

Other ACSA projects set to feature soon are the southern facing subway, the link between Domestic Arrivals and the CTB, the completed parkade 1 and the fully upgraded road network.

AIRPORT TO CITY TRANSPORT LINK A FIRST

An artist’s impression of what the new Terminal 2010 will look like. The envisaged transport plaza will greet visitors as they depart from the main entrance.

Katja Hamilton

In the lead up to 2010, Capetonians will soon be able to take public transport from Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) to the City Bowl and back.

This was the word from Bharat Bhikha, project manager at ACSA. Construction of a public transport plaza commenced last month and will be partially completed by November, right on time for the launch of Terminal 2010 – the new international and domestic departure hall at Cape Town International Airport.

The transport plaza, whichwill be located in front of the new terminal, will be dedicated to a BRT bus and metered taxi service. Pre-booked transport, such as tour-group buses and shuttles, will be accommodated in a separate area in front of the international terminal.

“The drive behind getting public transport to and from the airport is to reduce the congestion on our roads. The road system will only be able to take so many cars and after that it will become gridlocked, so by introducing a public transport service from the airport to the city we’re hoping to encourage Capetonians to leave their cars at home and to reduce the number of cars on the roads,” said Bhikha.

A first of its kind for Cape Town, the transport plaza will function like a town square with “half of the plaza dedicated to public transport and the other half consisting of a nice pedestrianised area where visitors can bask in the sun and have something to eat”.

“It’s always been our intention to create an old town square at the airport – a place where people get together and where all the different modes of transport meet. The new transport plaza will create that exciting community vibe,” said Bhikha.

Bhikha also announced that the transport plaza will be linked to two subways for pedestrians who want to get from the open parking area to the terminal building. “You’ll be able to go underneath the road via a subway and pop up on the other side.”

The BRT station at the airport and those earmarked for Hertzog Boulevard and Adderley Street, opposite Cape Town Station, will link to dedicated bus lanes at the airport, on the N2 and around the city centre, along Hertzog Boulevard and around the civic centre. The proposed launch date of the BRT airport-to-Cape Town service is March 2010.

“The timelines are tight but we believe it is still possible,”said Bhikha.

On the cards are the new sleek, modern public transport vehicles which will be operational from 4.30am in the morning until midnight, seven days a week, 365 days a year. They will leave the airport on a half-hourly basis with one or two stops inbetween.

Commenting on the new transport plaza at the airport, Bhikha said he was excited about the project.

“It’s going to be great when it’s all finished. I believe it will bring all the different aspects and services of the airport into a homogenous whole.

“The transport plaza will be an iconic feature that is going to be with us for many years and is going to be a signature feature for people arriving at and leaving Cape Town, and flying off to different parts of the world.

“So, from our side, we’re very excited. We believe we’re producing something that is going to be world class. The service is going to be very convenient, it’s going to be comfortable and it is going to be something that Cape Town can be proud of.”

A R1.5BN UPGRADE FOR THE AIRPORT

 Katja Hamilton

The construction of the new international and domestic departure halls at Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) is on track for completion next month, with the completion of the arrivals component set for March marking the end of a massive R1.5bn construction phrase that began in September 2006.

Known as Terminal 2010, the new five-storey building will serve as the main gateway for outgoing passengers, which will house a Central Processing Unit (CPU) from which international and domestic check-ins will take place.

Bharat Bhikha, project leader at Airports Company South Africa (Acsa), said the top level of the central terminal building would consist of the business-class airline lounges for three airlines. Bhikha said this would include a central airports operations centre with electronic and information services.

He said the level below it would be a food court with eight restaurants and a public viewing deck overlooking the runways. The middle, or third floor would house a total of four check-in islands consisting of 120 check-in counters with 20 self-service machines.

In-transit passengers will not need to move from one terminal to another. Check-in for domestic and international passengers will be handled in one area.

This floor will also be equipped with a R103m state-of-the-art automated baggage sorting system that will keep baggage from different flights separate and will include three levels of security screening and will be able to process 3 000 bags an hour.

The second floor will also accommodate the airside holding area for passengers and will be able to handle 2 500 people an hour – 1 500 more than can be managed presently. The first floor will consist of office space for airlines.

Bhikha said the ground floor, through which arriving passengers would proceed, would have another food court and retail space with stores, including Wooldworths and

Dis-Chem.

Part of Terminal 2010 is the construction of an additional eight passenger loading bridges at a cost of R25m for domestic passengers.

Top-notch service

Included in Acsa’s development plans will be the provision of tourist-information desks across all terminals.

Endorsed by Cape Town Torusim, these will provide visitors with information on flights, check-in locations and security points. According to Bhikha, a minimum of three Cape Town Toursim staff will be on duty at the airport on any given day.

“They will provide facilities for visitors to make hotel bookings and transport arrangements and inform them of tourist attractons in the city.”

Bhikha said in an attempt to cater to the needs of the increased number of visitors to the airport during the 2010 Fifa World Cup, additional casual staff would be employed on a short-term basis for the duration of the tournament and a recruitment drive was planned.

“We are looking at setting up special desks and facilities to assist with passenger facilitation and to help them with their requests on where to stay and how to get to venues,” said Bhikha. “The desks will be temporary and once the event is over they will be removed.”

Bhikha confirmed that Acsa’s management 2010 team were discussing the feasibility of redeploying office-bound employees to the ground floor temporarily on key match days in the city to ensure passenger needs are met.

He also said that Acsa would be seting up a temporary holding area next to the Road Lodge at the airport to provide a park-and-wait facility for private buses and taxis.

Beyond Terminal 2010

Construction of the Transport Plaza began in August and will be complete by next month.

In addiiton to the central Terminal Building, the airport’s facelift incudes a R87m road network upgrade that comprises a new approach road to the airport, the upgrade of the central boulevard and new ticket plazas. There will also be a new elevated road at the airport, which will allow for the separation of departing and arriving passengers. The upper level will serve as the new drop-and-go facility.

Included in the project is the construction of a public pedestrian plaza, from which passengers can catch a bus or taxi into the city. Two pedestrian subways will streamline pedestrian flow from the parking areas to the central terminal building.

Construction of a R394m, five-storey parkade near the current international terminal is underway and will provide 4 000 parking bays.

Deon Cloete, the airport’s general manager, said that by March next year a total of 8 000 parking bays would be available.

He said he was confident the construction of Terminal 2010 would provide a seamless experience for visitors.

Cloete added that airport teams are in the process of shifting their focus to their operational readiness for 2010 to ensure that, once the new infrastructure comes on stream, it is effectively managed and that daily site tours are being arranged for airport staff so that they can familiarise themselves with the new terminal.

Another key programme is the SA Host training workshops provided to all at the airport on a monthly basis. It is a national programme designed to develop service-excellence skills and promote a culture of customer service in South Africa.

“The programme highlights the importance of the individual’s role in delivering superior customer service in their place of work and their community,” said Cloete. “We’re having weekly operational-readiness meetings and regular sessions with the City of Cape Town to ensure that we’re ready.”