The judgment is a resounding victory for the residents of Cape Town and the Western Cape as this means that SANRAL cannot go ahead with the Winelands Tolling Project. Should they want to do so, the court found that SANRAL will have to start all over again with a proper public participation process.
The ruling has significant consequences, given the current economic climate where our residents and particularly the poor are already struggling to make ends meet.
This ruling represents the City's second legal victory against SANRAL and should send a strong message that SANRAL has reached the end of the road as far as the Winelands Tolling Project is concerned. The ruling vindicates the City's firm belief that the process undertaken by SANRAL to declare portions of the N1 and N2 as toll roads was improper and unlawful.
It is also high time that SANRAL stop blaming the City of Cape Town for neglecting to undertake much-needed road maintenance along the N1 and N2 freeways and upgrades to the Huguenot Tunnel. The issue of costs will be dealt with at a later stage, once the City and SANRAL have agreed on how the costs should be proportioned.
