Civil Engineering January/February 2021 | Vol 29 No 1

Civil Engineering January/February 2021 33 The surfacing of public spaces is very important for these individuals, and the non-motorised transport (NMT) guidelines, published by the Department of Transport in 2014 (see Table 1), provide a compre- hensive guideline of appropriate surfaces. However, many surfaces in practice are not as comfortable or appropriate as they should be according to the planning documents. CHILDREN Internationally, there is an increasing number of guidelines and planning documents being formulated to accom­ modate children in public transport. In South Africa, the Children’s Act (38 of 2005) outlines the risk of fatality for children hit by moving motor vehicles. However, transport-related documents specifically for children are missing in the South African context – a concern for South Africa’s almost 18.6 million children aged 17 years or less. South Africa has very high road fatality rates, which extends to children, and surveys suggest that as many as 50% of parents do not believe South African roads are safe for children. WOMEN Similar to that of children, there is a growing number of international planning documents focused specifically on trans- port and women, along with interventions to ensure that women are safe when using public transport, such as women-only carriages on trains. In South Africa, which is home to more than 17.8 million adult women, there Table 1 NMT Guidelines, 2014 (Source: DOT) Type Levelling Stability Friction/ Traction Comfort Noise Recyclable Material Recommend Clay pavers ++ ++ ++ ++ — ++ Yes Cobbles - + + — —- ++ With caution Natural stone a + ++ + + — ++ Yes Concrete pavers ++ ++ ++ ++ — ++ Yes Concrete slabs +++(new) —(old) ++ ++ ++(new) —(old) - —- No Cast concrete b +++ +++ ++ +++ ++ — Yes Pattern concrete + +++ ++ —/+ c — — With caution Asphalt +++ +++ ++ +++ ++ — Yes Unsealed gravel —- —- —- —- —- +++ No Sealed gravel ++ ++ ++ +++ ++ + Yes a = Friction of granite can be problematic  b = Friction of poured concrete needs to be attended to during installation  c = Depending on the pattern Figure 3 Newly implemented tactile paving in Pinelands, Cape Town Figure 4 The entrance of the New Engineering Building at the University of Cape Town