Managing road traffic congestion on Allandale road (M39) in Midrand, South Africa

Abstract

Traffic congestion is a challenge in cities around the world, and is generated by the significant growth in vehicle ownership and rapid urbanisation. In South Africa, it has become problematic for road transport users, and challenging for policymakers. The rapid increase in the total number of vehicles per capita has resulted in the metropolitan public traffic systems, specifically, being unable to fulfil the travel demand of occupants. In Gauteng, for example, this problem causes travel delays and contributes to low economic productivity. Traffic congestion results in the irregular flow of traffic on Allandale Road, which negatively contributes to the imbalanced process of economic activities in the Midrand area. The current study aimed to investigate the management of road traffic congestion on Allandale Road (M39) in Midrand. The study employed an exploratory sequential mixed-method research approach. The first phase was a qualitative study that consisted of interviews with 18 participants. The second phase, the quantitative study, utilised an online structured questionnaire that was completed by 276 respondents. The study revealed that traffic congestion does occur on Allandale Road in Midrand, and that it is not adequately managed. The outcomes showed a period of peak traffic congestion from 6:00 to 9:00 (mornings), and 15:30 to 18:00 (afternoons) during the week. The factors contributing to road traffic congestion are increased vehicle ownership, population growth, new developments, roadworks or construction projects, and mismanagement of the road traffic system. The study found that the key applicable pieces of legislation are the National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996, White Paper on National Transport Policy of 1996, Road Traffic Management Corporation Act 20 of 1999, National Land Transport Act of 2009 and the Draft National Non-Motorised Transport Policy. The results indicated that there are strategies that will better manage traffic congestion, including physical and improvement strategies. The strategies include public transport and infrastructure improvement, the introduction of carpooling, the promotion of non-motorised transport services, park-and-ride facilities, and the involvement of developers’ impact assessments. The physical improvement strategies include additional new roads, street connectivity, public information systems, bottleneck relief, and dedicated lanes for buses/Bus Rapid Transport systems. The operational improvement strategies are incident management, planned special event traffic management, traffic signal timing and coordination, and active road management by the Metro Police. The study concludes with a framework that could be used to manage road traffic congestion.