Update

GEORGE NEWS - The upgrading of Market Street (established in 1836) extending from York Street to Hope Street comprises of a full rebuild and upgrade of the full road reserve and the asphalting of pedestrian walkways with a paved furniture zone. 

The furniture zone is the area for all street furniture (benches, streetlights, waste bins etc) and acts as a buffer between the roadway and the pedestrian sidewalk.

Of the five phases, three will be completed by the end of September, and the last two are progressing well with completion set for February 2023.

Additional grant funding was gazetted in March and savings elsewhere on the GIPTN overall 2021/22 budget allowed for phases 4 and 5 of the upgrade to proceed to construction earlier than planned. 

An important requirement of the GIPTN funding agreement with the municipality is that all road upgrades on Go George bus routes must also comply with universal accessibility (UA) requirements. 

This means is that any individual (whose mobility, communicative ability, or understanding is reduced) should be able to access and use a pedestrian walkway, a bus stop and so on, freely and independently.

Market Street prior to the upgrade.

Street upgrades a science

George Municipality has made huge strides in drafting the necessary UA design criteria and is one of few that have produced a design criteria document. Retrofitting a street such as Market Street in terms of UA is not an easy task as provision has to be made for both property and street universal accessibility access, while maintaining the longitudinal slope along Market Street's walkways. 

Because of the need to adapt to existing roads, the science of universal accessibility is not exact, and a number of lessons learnt during the construction of Market Street will be carried forward to future road projects.

Mayor Leon Van Wyk visited Market Street recently after an ad hoc inspection undertaken by UA specialists to assess the implementation of UA along Market Street.

"These improvements for universal accessibility allow for wider pavements and will go a long way in ensuring mobility and access for all users; those making use of wheelchairs and people with other disabilities," said Van Wyk.

"Although this has been a challenging project that included the repositioning of streetlight poles to allow for universal access compliance, these challenges have been adequately managed by our highly skilled civil engineering services department. This is a world-class improvement along one of the most important and most used stretches/sections of road for our Go George bus services. These improvements are most welcome and will go a long way in servicing all residents."

The UA specialists noted that the municipality has made significant progress and solutions were provided for any shortcomings that were identified during the inspection. 

Further regular inspections are planned to ensure that the ongoing construction achieves the maximum level of UA compliance given the complex urban environment that is being upgraded.

Market Street prior to the upgrade.

Of the five phases, three will be completed by the end of September, and the last two are expected to be completed in February 2023.

Municipal project manager Ricus Fivaz and Mayor Leon Van Wyk show off the newly refurbished sidewalk along Market Street.

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