Thanks to convenient points such as high service frequency and low-floor rolling stock, it is anticipated that the planned CBD-Waterfront LRT will shift a large number of present car users and thus have a large impact on the urban transport situation in that it will check the increase in and even reduce car traffic levels.
One feature of the railway is that it encourages development around stations. Stations become centers of both transport and local development and thus have an impact on their surrounding areas. Because the LRT is characterized by numerous stations placed at short intervals, it is thought that development along the route will be greatly promoted.
On the other hand, however, it must be taken into account that the policy of giving priority to the LRT will make it impossible for cars to park on the road shoulder and may also hinder the smooth flow of vehicular traffic.
7.2 Impact on Urban Development Plans
The facilities planned for urban areas within city development plans are generally the sort that attract large numbers of people, for example, hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, theaters, and so on. The larger the facilities become, the greater the need becomes for transport facilities of equivalent capacity. The movement of privately owned cars within the city is spatially limited by problems such as road congestion and a shortage of parking spaces, and one way to resolve this problem is to incorporate a public transport system of large or medium capacity into the urban development plan.
In this sense, an inner city transit mall-type system that uses LRT is a specific case in point and potentially highly effective in offering more urban space to citizens.
In particular, because LRT stations can be placed at frequent intervals similar to bus stops, the system is highly accessible to surrounding areas and links with the local community can be made much closer than in the case of an ordinary railway. Put another way, the LRT is a public mode of transport that can promote urban development along the line and greatly contribute to the advancement of city plans. For this reason, the significance of incorporating the LRT into the urban plans for the inner city area of Cape Town, where the application of public transport is a troublesome issue, is large.
