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Cape Town 2010


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2. had cars move under with spectators on top, which would be less convenient for those in wheelchairs

How so?

Should have had cars move under and kept people out of tunnels, out from under overpasses.

You can ever see from that picture how it's got dark, cold, concrete corners.

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Sky Sports follows BBC to Cape Town with World Cup studio

Sky-Cape-Town-South-Afric-001.jpg

Sky is acquiring its own spectacular Cape Town studio view for the World Cup in South Africa, with a studio not far from the BBC's. Photograph: Sky

Sky Sports is to have its own studio in Cape Town during the football World Cup in South Africa – an unusual move for the broadcaster, which has no live rights to the event.

BSkyB's sports operation has reached a deal with the UK production company Input Media, which counts the Football Association and Uefa Champions League as broadcast clients, to use a dedicated studio as part of a £1m broadcast centre on the waterfront with views of Cape Town stadium, Table Mountain and Robben Island for the World Cup, which begins on 11 June.

Sky does not have any UK TV rights to the World Cup, which are jointly held by the BBC and ITV. But the company is likely to promote its high-definition satellite TV offering, which will be showing World Cup matches broadcast on the BBC HD and ITV HD channels.

The deal with Input Media will see it use a three-camera studio at the V&A Waterfront World Media & Legacy Centre, which is in the heart of the tourist area in Granger Bay in Cape Town.

Input Media has invested £1m into the broadcasting facilities at the centre, which it is offering for use to broadcasters that are not rights holders, with costs running from about US$1,000 for a one-off 10 minute package to hundreds of thousands for a full-service presence for the duration of the tournament.

"Input Media has brought together a team that will ensure that our viewers are part of this summer's action," said Darren Long, director of operations at Sky Sports. "The offering is both innovative and commercially viable, backed up by comprehensive broadcast and technical expertise."

• Caroline Thomson, BBC chief operating officer, has defended the corporation's "glass box" rooftop studio down the road in Cape Town from the Sky base, arguing that the public do not want a presentation from "some windowless room in the basement".

The BBC has come in for criticism for choosing to eschew the International Broadcast Centre in Johannesburg, where ITV and other international broadcasters will be based, instead opting to build a studio and production suite in Cape Town at a cost of several hundred thousand pounds. The BBC will also be hit by extra costs, thought to be a significant six figure sum minimum, to relay a signal the 1,500km between Capetown and Johannesburg where the game feeds come in.

"Yes, we must deliver value for money, and we have planned carefully to ensure spend on major events this summer is kept as lean and efficient as possible to guarantee our coverage does achieve great value," said Thomson.

"But at the same time, this determination must never be at the expense of the quality experience licence fee payers demand and expect. It would be a complete false economy to cover these events half-heartedly. The viewer does not expect one of the world's greatest sporting occasions presented from some windowless room in the basement of Television Centre."

The BBC is taking 295 staff to the World Cup, 15% fewer than attended Germany four years ago, while ITV is thought to be taking between 140 and 160 staff.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/apr/26/sky-cape-town-world-cup?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

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City’s R263 million Hospital Bend project officially opened

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DSC_8826.jpg After seven years of planning and two years of complex construction work, Cape Town’s R263 million Hospital Bend interchange has been officially opened.

The new interchange is expected to greatly ease traffic flow to and from the city.

“Today is a very special day for the City of Cape Town and our citizens. I am sure that in a few weeks time when the commuting public get used to the new formation of Hospital Bend they would have forgotten the challenges and difficulties we all had to negotiate the old lane formation”, said Councillor Elizabeth Thompson, Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Roads and Major Projects, who officially opened the new interchange on 22 April 2010.

Capetonians have already had a taste of how this new interchange will work, after the De Waal Drive bridge, pre-selection lanes and Anzio Road bridge opened for traffic over the past two weeks. It is expected to take a while for traffic patterns to stabilise as motorists become used to the new situation and decide on new regular routes.

This project, which was completed on time and within its budget of R263 million (excluding VAT), has become one of the City of Cape Town’s flagship transport infrastructure projects.

“I want to thank the people of Cape Town from the bottom of my heart for their patience and co-operation during the construction period, and let me be quick to add that we can do only so much to make the roads safer; it is ultimately up to driver behaviour to ensure that the roads are made much safer. I thus call on all road users to drive safely and to choose their lanes early and stay in your lane until you negotiate the interchange successfully,” said Cllr Thompson.

Planning for the Hospital Bend upgrade started in October 2001. An upgrade of this interchange was necessary because it is an important link between the city, airport and residential areas such as the Southern Suburbs and Khayelitsha. It is estimated that over 7000 vehicles per hour pass through Hospital Bend during peak hour traffic.

The route is the one of the main gateways to Cape Town, situated along the lower slopes of Table Mountain National Park and the approach along Settlers Way is spectacular. Detailed attention was therefore given to the landscaping and the finishes of all elements of the road, to ensure a pleasant driving experience. This includes vegetation, the retaining wall and paving area finishes.

The main feature of the upgrade is a Pre-Selection Scheme concept which allows motorists to select their destinations well in advance of the Hospital Bend Interchange, thus minimising weaving actions (which before the improvements totalled about 3000 per hour!), which was the major cause of traffic congestion on this road.

See more photos.

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Its far from perfect but they had decided to go with an at-grade Fan Walk as far as possible from Cape Town Station to the Stadium.

When I say the cars should move under, I didn't mean that the fan walk should have been raised, rather, I meant the cars should have gone down. The fan walk could have been kept at grade, and the cars would have moved below grade.

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I'm certain the various options were considered given the budget and other constraints.

The road and circle plans date back to 1998 and the Green Point Development Framework, so while it may not be the best option, I'm sure extensive though over the least 10 years has been given to the circle.

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There are still many projects, even if its just paving, that are still busy and will likely only finish off at the start of June:

Not!

IMG_73861.JPGExchange Place, between St George's Mall and the Heerengracht, will form part of the start of the Fan Walk

IMG_7407.JPGA huge trench runs the length of lower St George's Mall

IMG_7409.JPGTaming the eight-lane beast. A hole has been punched through the wall between the Heerengracht and the new CT Station Square to create a pedestrian crossing at the start of the Fan Walk

IMG_7413.JPGPart of the new CT Station Square. Good progress...

IMG_7415.JPG...but still quite a way to go!

IMG_74161.JPGThe new Long Distance Bus Terminal, between the CT Station and the Civic Centre

IMG_7404.JPGNarrowing the Bree St central island to cater for new cycling lanes

IMG_7391.JPGLooking good. The new pedestrian bridge over Buitengracht Street will connect Waterkant Street to St Andrew's Square and Somerset Road as part of the Fan Walk

IMG_7421.JPGA second pedestrian bridge, over Lower Buitengracht, will connect the CBD to the V&A Waterfront. The good news is that the City will also be spending R1,1m to repair the 'rickety' Strand Street footbridge linking the station deck and the Grand Parade

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NEW DELHI (AFP) – Nelson Mandela plans to skip the opening ceremony of the football World Cup finals in South Africa in June and will watch the tournament from home, his grandson told AFP on Wednesday.

Asked if the former South African president, 91, would be present as hoped for by organisers, Chief Mandla Mandela replied: "Certainly not. My grandfather at this age is very elderly and we are not trying to intensify his programme."

"He's said he would prefer to be at home in the rural countryside to spend time at the farm," Mandela said in an interview with AFP during a trip to India.

"What we understand is that during the World Cup he will be given the opportunity to rest in the countryside."

A final decision will be made by the family and the Nelson Mandela Foundation closer to the start date on June 11, he added, stressing that there were no immediate health worries.

Last Friday, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he was hopeful that Mandela would be strong enough to open the finals.

The increasingly frail anti-apartheid campaigner made his last public appearance on February 11 when he visited the South African parliament to mark the 20th anniversary of his release from prison.

His grandson, in India for South African national day celebrations, said Mandela would watch the games on television. His rural home is in Qunu in the South Africa's Eastern Cape province, his birthplace.

"We always watch soccer with him but unless the team is winning 2-0 he doesn't feel comfortable," he said. "Once it's a tight situation, he usually walks away and says it's too nerve-wracking."

On repeated speculation about Mandela's health, he said: "My grandfather has always been in good health.

"The media will always put something out to sell papers. Every time my grandfather goes to the hospital for his monthly check up it?s used as platform to say he is ill," he said.

He said the family's only concern was Mandela's knees, due to his top-heavy physique which puts pressure on the joints.

Despite this, the former president still manages to walk around thanks to his "stubbornness" and determination, he added.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100428/wl_africa_afp/safricapoliticsmandelafblwc2010

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Offramp-Hairpin turn? Hmmmmm

Hospital-bend is a good name.

City?s R263 million Hospital Bend project officially opened

  • Home »
  • Featured »
  • City?s R263 million Hospital Bend project officially opened

DSC_8826.jpg After seven years of planning and two years of complex construction work, Cape Town?s R263 million Hospital Bend interchange has been officially opened.

The new interchange is expected to greatly ease traffic flow to and from the city.

?Today is a very special day for the City of Cape Town and our citizens. I am sure that in a few weeks time when the commuting public get used to the new formation of Hospital Bend they would have forgotten the challenges and difficulties we all had to negotiate the old lane formation?, said Councillor Elizabeth Thompson, Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Roads and Major Projects, who officially opened the new interchange on 22 April 2010.

Capetonians have already had a taste of how this new interchange will work, after the De Waal Drive bridge, pre-selection lanes and Anzio Road bridge opened for traffic over the past two weeks. It is expected to take a while for traffic patterns to stabilise as motorists become used to the new situation and decide on new regular routes.

This project, which was completed on time and within its budget of R263 million (excluding VAT), has become one of the City of Cape Town?s flagship transport infrastructure projects.

?I want to thank the people of Cape Town from the bottom of my heart for their patience and co-operation during the construction period, and let me be quick to add that we can do only so much to make the roads safer; it is ultimately up to driver behaviour to ensure that the roads are made much safer. I thus call on all road users to drive safely and to choose their lanes early and stay in your lane until you negotiate the interchange successfully,? said Cllr Thompson.

Planning for the Hospital Bend upgrade started in October 2001. An upgrade of this interchange was necessary because it is an important link between the city, airport and residential areas such as the Southern Suburbs and Khayelitsha. It is estimated that over 7000 vehicles per hour pass through Hospital Bend during peak hour traffic.

The route is the one of the main gateways to Cape Town, situated along the lower slopes of Table Mountain National Park and the approach along Settlers Way is spectacular. Detailed attention was therefore given to the landscaping and the finishes of all elements of the road, to ensure a pleasant driving experience. This includes vegetation, the retaining wall and paving area finishes.

The main feature of the upgrade is a Pre-Selection Scheme concept which allows motorists to select their destinations well in advance of the Hospital Bend Interchange, thus minimising weaving actions (which before the improvements totalled about 3000 per hour!), which was the major cause of traffic congestion on this road.

See more photos.

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Cape Town: Polluting drivers face jail

By Babalo Ndenze

Metro Writer

Vehicle owners whose cars emit smoke and pollute the air now face imprisonment and a fine under the city's newly amended Air Pollution Management by-law, under which city officials will carry out random roadblocks to test vehicles.

In its effort to have the cleanest air in Africa, the City of Cape Town has upped the ante in its fight against vehicle emissions, especially from diesel vehicles, which contribute the most to the city's air pollution.

The so-called "brown haze", a common sight across the Cape Flats, especially during winter, is mostly caused by diesel vehicles, according to city health authorities.

According to the Brown Haze Study, conducted by The Energy Research Group at the University of Cape Town, diesel vehicle emissions contribute 48 percent of the visual degradation of the urban air quality in Cape Town.

"For this reason it was imperative for the city to establish a diesel vehicle emissions testing programme," health portfolio chairman James Vos said. He said the existing Air Pollution Control by-law had to be amended because it became outdated and was not hitting hard enough at those responsible for much of the "noxious contaminating" emissions

As part of the clampdown, diesel emission vehicle testing officers (Deveto's) would be conducting "roaming roadblocks" throughout the city, Vos said.

As a start, the city will be testing its 3 500 diesel vehicles in its fleet of more than 6 500.

Vos said the by-law was approved by the council and was being implemented.

"We have tested some 5 000 vehicles in the past year or so. We are also testing our own city fleet," Vos said.

He said the aim of the exercise was to assess the current state of the city's fleet.

The by-law not only provides a legal mandate for the city to set emission standards, but will also seek to resolve concerns about, among others, the illegal burning of tyres and copper cable, dust emissions and emissions from activities such as spray painting, grinding and shot blasting.

The by-law states that any person whose vehicle "emits dark smoke" and is found guilty, will be "liable on conviction to imprisonment not exceeding 30 days or to a fine or to both a fine and imprisonment".

Cape Town was the first city to ban steam locomotives from its city centre. The city has a long history in the fight against air pollution. It also led the way by being the first city to promulgate air pollution control by-laws, declare smoke free zones, and initiate diesel vehicle testing in the country.

"During the year of the inception of the programme, in 2000, the failure rate was 17 percent. Since then, there has been a steady decline in the failure rate of vehicles tested. Currently the failure rate is 0.66 percent," Vos said.

He said people not complying would first be issued with a stop notice period of 30 days to repair the problem.

"Then they must bring the vehicle back to us for testing. If it still exceeds, they will get a spot fine and the penalties are much heavier this time around," Vos said.

Smoking vehicles can be reported to the city's Air Quality Management Unit during office hours on 021 590 1419.

babalo.ndenze@inl.co.za

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oops. posted this in CT 2020 instead of CT2010:

Its the one where they successfully completed the first heart transplant. Its the entire site. Hospital Bend is to the top of the image.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3056/2848023722_22b2535466_b.jpg

The hospital is probably most famous for being the hospital where the first heart transplant took place in 1967. Visit the GSH Museum to see how medicine has changed over the years.

However, there is much work to be celebrated that is done by the hospital's many departments and over 3663 dedicated staff who care for more than 560 000 referrals and inpatient admissions per year.

oops. posted this in CT 2020 instead of CT2010:

Its the one where they successfully completed the first heart transplant. Its the entire site. Hospital Bend is to the top of the image.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3056/2848023722_22b2535466_b.jpg

The hospital is probably most famous for being the hospital where the first heart transplant took place in 1967. Visit the GSH Museum to see how medicine has changed over the years.

However, there is much work to be celebrated that is done by the hospital's many departments and over 3663 dedicated staff who care for more than 560 000 referrals and inpatient admissions per year.

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Cape Town gets smart

Tpurch.jpg

Cape Town will be one of the first cities in the world to use a large-scale automatic fare payment system for its new public transport service based on contactless debit and credit cards issued by South African banks.

This ‘smart card’ system will be an integral part of the city’s new Integrated Rapid Transit (IRT) network when it is launched around the end of 2010. Its open access makes it a significant upgrade from the closed proprietary technology based payment systems used for public transport in other major international cities.

The first major difference will be that the cards used in the IRT system will be compatible with the point of sale (POS) devices that can be found in most shops, allowing them to be easily loaded with credit, or even used to pay for goods and services.

The second important factor will be that the cards can be branded and issued by any institution that issues payment cards that conform to the specifications of MasterCard Worldwide and Visa International, including, for example chain stores. The only difference is that the cards used on the IRT will also have a special piece of electronic data added to them. This standardised data structure has been created by the National Department of Transport and will be freely available for integration onto all cards.

The cards will have all the usual functionality and benefits of an electronic payment system making it easy for large numbers of people to move very quickly in and out of the IRT system through stations, providing better security for operators and users, providing detailed data on passenger movements and significantly reducing the cost of handling transactions. They also allow for distance-related fares, with users tapping their card each time they enter or leave a station and only being charged when they leave the system altogether.

But on top of these standard features the system in Cape Town will have a number of added advantages that arise from not using a proprietary, closed system.

To begin with, it will make banks responsible for handling all of the financial risk associated with the system, and updating the data security of the cards, which means that the system will never go out of date. In return for this, the banks will earn a small amount from the City for each transaction, which will still be much lower than the costs of handling cash.

The second advantage will be interoperability with all modes of public transport, no matter who the operator is, together with a host of additional services, for example parking, road tolls and bicycle hire. The system will eventually be deployed at all major public transport systems in the country, which will be very useful for tourists, and people travelling between cities.

But because the payment cards are actually simplified bank accounts and can be used in any shop, they will have an impact beyond transport. For some Capetonians, especially youth, their smart card will be their first ever bank account, and provide an important introduction to the country’s banking system.

The cards will be sold at a wide variety of outlets, with the City aiming to get as many cards into use as possible. Although it will be possible to get a card that is directly linked to a normal bank account, most cards will be sold on their own, without needing to sign any forms. Currently, the cost of a new card is around R22, but this may be subsidised, for example through advertising. While people will still be able to use cash, there will be cost penalties for this.

Although Johannesburg has also begun preparations to launch the new smart card system in their Rea Vaya BRT system, Cape Town’s IRT is set to be the first city in South Africa where it will be used. The consultants working with the City of Cape Town are the same people working with the National Department of Transport on preparing the national implementation of the system and have made enough progress in their preparations to launch it at the same time as a full IRT service begins operating, although paper tickets will still be used as an interim measure during the FIFA World Cup™.

Martin Pollack 2010/04/29

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Gosh, I can't get enough of Green Point Stadium. It's breathtaking! I would be sorely disappointed should Brazil fail to play there, a somewhat unlikely scenario given that this would only happen if we don't go past group stage, but still...

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