Sanral presses N1 toll plan

30 November 2015 - 02:13 By Philani Nombembe

Cape Town motorists should take the pain of paying for road upgrades now, or fork out exorbitant fees later. Sanral revealed this as the road agency's legal scuffle with Cape Town over the tolling of the city's two highways resumed in the Cape Town High Court.Sanral has been embroiled in a protracted legal battle with the city over the implementation of the proposed N1/N2 Winelands toll highway project since 2012.In September the court ruled in favour of the city in its application for the reviewing and setting aside of Sanral's and the transport minister's decision to toll the roads.Cape Town objected that Sanral took the decision unilaterally and that the tolls would cause disproportionate hardship for poor communities along the highways.On Friday Sanral applied for leave to appeal the ruling, and the city applied for leave to cross-appeal against a section of the judgment.Sanral spokesman Vusi Mona, said yesterday that further delays in implementing the tolls meant residents' frustrations with traffic congestion would escalate, and that they would also have to pay more to travel by car in future."The fact of the matter is that those roads need to be upgraded," said Mona."There is a severe congestion in Cape Town and the longer we delay implementation, the more the traffic builds up and more frustrated the motorists will be on the roads."Prices are not waiting for Sanral, the government and the City of Cape Town to resolve their differences. The motorist population is growing and we can't stop it."Councillor Brett Herron, responsible for transport in the Cape Town council, said the city's cross-appeal was "in light of Sanral's decision to seek leave to appeal".The city is seeking to appeal the court's order dismissing its application for reviewing and setting aside the Sanral board's decision to declare sections of the highways as toll roads.It also wants to appeal the court's order refusing its application for an interdict to prevent Sanral from concluding a concession contract that would deprive the roads agency and the transport minister of the discretion to determine the amount of toll that may be levied."In a letter dated October12, 2015, the city's executive mayor, Patricia de Lille, extended a second invitation to Nazir Alli, CEO of Sanral, to settle the matter out of court," said Herron."Alas, Sanral is clearly not interested in working together with the city to find a solution."Judgment was reserved...

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