Mobility

1. (a) Under the Department’s mandate for provincial roads, what specific measures have been implemented in the past 12 months to reduce road fatalities in high-risk areas of the province and

Over the past 12 months, the Western Cape Government Mobility Department has implemented a comprehensive, intelligence-led and multi-sectoral programme to reduce road fatalities in high-risk areas across the province. This approach is anchored in modern predictive analytics, strategic enforcement, and collaboration with SANRAL and the Department of Infrastructure as the implementing authorities on provincial and national routes.

Key measures include:

• Intelligence-led hazardous location (hazloc) identification through the Department’s Business Intelligence capability, which uses predictive analysis to identify high-risk crash locations based on historical trends, traffic volumes, pedestrian movement, freight behaviour, weather patterns and seasonal fluctuations. These insights guide targeted officer deployment at the right place and the right time.
• Real-time operational dashboards and early-warning systems that allow the Department to detect emerging hotspots and shift deployments before fatal incidents occur.
• High-visibility and specialised enforcement operations, including speeding, unsafe stopping, pedestrian-safety interventions, freight-vehicle monitoring, and fatigue-focused operations on long-haul corridors such as the N1, N2, N7 and major routes.
• Freight-risk mitigation, supported by road-safety appraisals completed on the N7, Piekenierskloof Pass and Van Rhyns Pass, with recommendations relating to access management, weigh-in-motion mats, and heavy-vehicle decanting facilities. These reports have been submitted to the National Department of Transport.
• Engineering and infrastructure improvements, implemented in partnership with SANRAL and Infrastructure, including:
  • Expansion of infrared-enabled CCTV systems on the N7, N1 (De Doorns) and N2 (Grabouw) to detect crime, unsafe stopping and pedestrian movement.
  • Improved lighting, pedestrian culverts and under-passes in De Doorns to reduce pedestrian fatalities.
  • Red-line no-stopping zones on the N7 to reduce unsafe hitchhiking behaviour.
  • Resurfacing of Houwhoek Pass, where frequent road departures were recorded.
  • Safety barriers at Orchard Farm on the N2 to reduce drivers picking up pedestrians.
  • Work to improve access and entry on the N7 near Moorreesburg to prevent truck backlogs.
• Established corridor platforms, such as the N2 Road Safety Task Team, supported by new infrared CCTV going live at Grabouw on 12 December.
• Behavioural and community safety programmes, focused on pedestrian safety, school-area protection and targeted communication in rural high-risk areas.
• Intergovernmental partnerships with SAPS, municipalities, Health, Education and Human Settlements to provide integrated interventions in complex risk environments.

(b) what was the total cost of these interventions;

All infrastructure-related and technology-related costs associated with these interventions are determined and administered by SANRAL and the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure as the responsible implementing authorities.

(2) (a) how many traffic-calming interventions, including (i) speed humps, (ii) signage and (iii) pedestrian crossings, have been completed by his Department on provincial roads in the past 12 months and

Before responding to the question, it is important to clarify the Department’s mandate. The Western Cape Mobility Department is not the implementing authority for road upgrades, traffic calming measures such as speed humps, pedestrian crossings, signage, or other road engineering interventions. These functions fall under the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure for provincial roads, municipalities for municipal roads, and SANRAL for national routes.

However, over the past 12 months, the Department, in collaboration with the Department of Infrastructure and SANRAL, delivered a range of traffic-calming interventions on provincial roads based on engineering assessments and risk profiles. These include:

• (i) Speed-calming measures such as the large traffic circle at Plettenberg Bay, which addresses a high-pedestrian-risk location.
• (ii) Upgraded and additional road-safety signage on high-risk provincial routes.
• (iii) Pedestrian-focused infrastructure such as improved lighting, pedestrian culverts/under-passes in De Doorns, and protective barriers on the N2 at Orchard Farm to prevent unsafe crossing and hitchhiking.

b) what was the total expenditure;

All expenditure related to these traffic-calming measures is administered and determined by the Department of Infrastructure and SANRAL.

(3) (a) what progress has his Department made in implementing technology-based traffic enforcement (for example speed cameras and red-light cameras) on provincial roads in the last 12 months and

The Department has made significant progress in strengthening technology-based enforcement on provincial routes over the last 12 months, in partnership with SANRAL and Infrastructure. Key developments include:

• Expansion of infrared-enabled CCTV systems on the N7, improving visibility of crime, unsafe stopping and pedestrian movement.
• Extension of the Freeway Management System (FMS) on the N1 to De Doorns, including enhanced lighting and camera infrastructure.
• Installation of infrared CCTV cameras in Grabouw, scheduled to go live on 12 December, supporting the multi-agency N2 Task Team.
• Inclusion of technology solutions such as weigh-in-motion mats and traffic-monitoring technology in the road-safety appraisals for National Department consideration.

(b) what has been the total cost to date

The total cost of these technology-based enforcement enhancements is determined by SANRAL and the Department of Infrastructure, in accordance with their mandates.