TSHWANE METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY Item 3, Part I -
Request for principle support for Gauteng toll freeway proposals as
developed by the SA National Roads Agency Ltd (SANRAL)
SPEECH BY COUNCILLOR RICHARD DINKELMANN (ACDP)
22 June 2006
Mr. Speaker, thank you.
Anyone who makes use of our Province's main routes on working days, knows that an upgrade of capacity is long overdue.
The ACDP thus welcomes this report, prompted by the "Gauteng Freeway
Improvement Proposal" of the SA National Roads Agency Ltd
(SANRAL). The emphasis on public transport is also to be welcomed.
What we find extremely concerning however, is that "tolling" is
proposed by SANRAL as the funding mechanism. The ACDP wishes to express
its most serious objection to the use of tolling to fund the proposed
roads.
The reasons are numerous:
Firstly, tolling is the most expensive way to finance a road's
development and maintenance, because of the costs involved in
collecting the toll. Whether it is done manually with
conventional toll gates, or automatically with Electronic Fare
Collection systems it costs money to collect the fees. Then there
is also the profit motive of the toll operating company, which will
cost the road users more money.
Mr Speaker, secondly, tolling is effectively a double tax. Road users
are already paying a fuel levy, which is meant to maintain and upgrade
our national and provincial road network. The sad fact is that it is
not being only applied for that purpose. The ACDP says that that
the fuel levy income should be ring-fenced and applied only for the
maintenance and upgrade of roads.
Thirdly, tolling puts pressure on side roads as alternative
routes. We are experiencing the results of the N1’s tolling
in the Tshwane Metro's area of jurisdiction. As a result, our
suburb routes are carrying traffic volumes and especially freight
traffic that they were never designed to do. Now rate payers have
to fund the additional maintenance burden and suffer the inconvenience
and unsafe conditions caused by the additional volumes.
I would like to remind Council that the tolling of the N1 went ahead,
despite this Council expressing its concerns and mandating a mayoral
delegation to negotiate alternative solutions; as per Council
resolution of 7 June 2001, Item 23.
As a result, the ACDP would like to propose an amendment to recommendation 5:
5. That Council expresses its objection to
tolling as the preferred funding strategy, and urges the National and
Gauteng departments to find other funding mechanisms for the proposed
developments.
I thank you!
Richard Dinkelmann
ACDP Councillor: Tshwane Metro
rwdinkel@mweb.co.za
+27 83 263 2664 (mobile)
+27 86 671 9044 (fax)