In addition to possessing major urban and transport problems, the area centered around the CBD is one that should be attached with importance in the future as the representative face of the metropolitan region. Car transport is the main form of transport in this area and, although traffic congestion has not yet reached serious levels, inner city planning that aims to develop the public transport system is being advanced by the city administration as it senses future urban development trends and the growing possibility of hosting the Olympic Games.
The writers also believe that there is great potential to exploit public transport in the inner city area and, upon examining plans for the introduction of an LRT between the CBD and the Waterfront, anticipate that this could play a clear role within the public transport system.
In considering the public transport network in the inner city area, it is necessary to pay attention to the effective utilization (including mutual linkage) of existing transport systems and the future trends of urban development.
The planned future shape of Cape Town is illustrated in Figure 2-9, from which it can be seen that the introduction of residential functions and expansion of commercial concentration in the inner city area is planned. Public transport routes that are considered desirable to compliment these future plans are CBD - Culemborg, CBD - District 6, CBD - Waterfront, and Waterfront - Sea Point, and so on.
Furthermore, regarding plans surrounding the Olympic bid for 2004, it is considered that accommodation, tourism and recreation functions for visitors who would come for the Games will need to be secured in the inner city area, and in relation to this it is foreseen that the establishment of a public transport system that organically links the Olympic Arena and various facilities will become a major issue.
Achieving the sort of public transport system that can respond to the aforementioned needs does not necessarily entail the construction of new facilities and routes, etc. Instead, effectively utilizing existing means of transport is far more important, for example, utilizing Metro (city suburban railway) as an inner city railway, rerouting bus and rail routes to organically link the two, improving terminals and connection points between different forms of transport, and so on. It is especially hoped that this kind of thinking is reflected in the inner city planning current being advanced.
