Monday, June 01, 2009

Kliptown




New Kliptown Road serves as a fundamental component in the envisaged regeneration of Kliptown. Through the built medium of a pedestrian friendly spine that links the education district just below Old Potch Road and an intended park south of Klipsruit Road, it is foreseen that identified civil, retail and heritage nodes are linked and activated via pedestrian movement. This production of route is intended to stimulate development along New Kliptown Road. The identified civil, retail and heritage nodes along and around the route is anticipated to act as further modules in the regeneration of Kliptown.

More specifically, New Kliptown Road aims to link all amenities and facilities within Kliptown. A three-way affiliation connecting Eldorado Park, Old Potch Road and Dlamini encourages economic and social potential within not only Kliptown, but the surrounding areas as previously mentioned. This new production line of growth focuses on the pedestrian, but does not exclude the importance of vehicular movement. A “no car zone” is created within the retail district with the intention of restricting identified traffic flow within the peripheral areas surrounding Union Road in the hope that vehicular traffic will be focused on Union Road reactivating retail as was experienced in the days of old. Throughout the rest of Kliptown, New Kliptown Road is pedestrian affable. Traffic calming elements combined with wide pavements , shaded zones, sensitivity to human verse building scale along well lit night movement provides a safe and secure area for all within Kliptown and its intended activated areas. In addition to this initiative of production, knowledge of surrounding will be experienced through change in thickness of New Kliptown Road, change of surface treatment and special pause moments.

On a macro scale, treatment to the train track boundary via a bern hopes to prevent dangerous pedestrian movement across the tracks. By providing isolated subsidiary routes from New Kliptown Road to Youth Centers, it is anticipated that safe transition can happen across the train tracks. Road systems have been reconsidered. Primary, secondary and tertiary road systems have been implemented with the intention of proportionally minimising large scale vehicular movement. Green spaces have been regenerated and improved with the addition of hard surface sport facilities. The existing fabric of Kliptown has been considered at all stages when considering demolition. Deliberation as to whether structures should be demolished was contemplated against factors such as derelict structures, potential to improve the Kliptown fabric, possibility to enhance and better the life of those within Kliptown and general theme of removal for improvement.