Carlo Petersen
THE City’s heralding the end of tolling in the province was premature, said the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral), which still has many options to explore.
Sanral’s decision to go ahead with the Winelands Tolling Project on the N1 and N2 was set aside in the Western Cape High Court this week.
Mayor Patricia De Lille and Mayco member for Transport for Cape Town Brett Herron celebrated the ruling, saying what happened in Gauteng would never happen in the Western Cape.
“The judgment does not signal the death of tolling. To state this would be outright misleading to the public,” Sanral spokesperson Vusi Mona said.
Mona said what the court found against Sanral was only a procedural point.
“Consequently, should Sanral still intend to toll the N1 and N2 winelands route, it may do so as long as it is done within the framework of the Sanral Act,” Mona said.
He said the real issue was not only about the question whether “to toll or not to toll?”.
“It is about finding solutions that will be in the interest of road users. It is a fact that the fuel levy is just not the answer. Ultimately, it would have been in the best interest of the road users, the economy and the poor for the city to take the olive branch that was extended to it by Sanral before the court process started,” he said.
Herron said the court ruling now offers Sanral an opportunity to act in a transparent manner.
“As far as the City is concerned, Sanral has one of three options: They can appeal against the judgment using taxpayers’ hard earned money. Sanral can decide to go ahead with their intentions, but follow due process this time, or they can shelve this idea altogether and use the money they receive from the government to maintain these freeways.”
Engineer Johan du Toit said Sanral was busy with many major road upgrades, including the N7 “right up to Clanwilliam”.
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