Residents call for review of traffic plans for proposed Tokai High School - IOL

The Bergvliet Voluntary Association holds a community meeting to discuss concerns around proposed plans for a Tokai High School in the community.

Bergvliet residents have paid for their own technical review of the traffic assessment for the proposed Tokai High School, raising fresh questions about whether surrounding roads can cope with more than 1,100 learners travelling to and from the school.

The review has questioned whether the traffic modelling reflects how the school would operate, what became of additional traffic counts conducted in June and whether proposed access from Ruskin and Leyden roads has been adequately assessed.

The concerns were discussed at a community meeting attended by scores of residents and members of the Bergvliet Voluntary Association (BVA) at the Bergvliet Sports Association on September 15.

The BVA is calling on the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) to urgently reconvene the Tokai High School Interim Steering Committee to address concerns and provide clarity on the proposed school development.

The proposed school is planned for a 3.8-hectare provincial government-owned site on Ruskin Road. It is expected to accommodate more than 1,100 learners in about 30 classrooms and include a sports field and school hall.

Traffic has been one of the main concerns surrounding the development since plans for the school became public.

According to the BVA, the steering committee was established as a forum for structured engagement between community representatives, the City and the WCED as the project progresses.

The association said it had agreed that the committee would meet monthly to discuss the broader community impacts of the WCED’s rapid school-building programme, as well as the proposed school’s admissions policy. However, the BVA said the committee has not met.

At the latest community meeting, the BVA discussed the City’s TIA and shared details of an independent technical review funded by the community.

The review identified several issues which the BVA believes should be addressed transparently by the WCED and the City, and where appropriate, through the steering committee.

Questions raised include whether the traffic models accurately reflect the school’s proposed operating model, what happened to additional traffic counts conducted in June 2026, and whether the proposed access points from Ruskin Road and Leyden Road have been adequately assessed to accommodate inbound school traffic.

Concerns about the proposed school were also raised last year, particularly during the public participation process relating to the project’s Heritage Impact Assessment.

Leyden Road, one of the narrow residential roads expected to serve as a main access route to the proposed Tokai High School.

The City's mayoral committee member for urban mobility, Rob Quintas, said the City’s role was statutory, as the proposed development is a Western Cape Government project.

“The site also has existing rights and is compliant with the applicable by-law. The TIA submitted was therefore intended to address the localised upgrades and internal traffic provisions associated with the development,” he said.

Quintas said any further technical review or engagement regarding the TIA should be directed to the Traffic Engineer appointed by the Western Cape Government, who compiled the assessment.

He also said the City’s Urban Mobility Directorate was not involved in any steering committee relating to the Bergvliet project.

“Any queries regarding meetings referred to by the Bergvliet Voluntary Association should therefore be directed to the officials or parties who convened those meetings, as well as the developer,” he said.

WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said the department remained committed to constructive engagement with stakeholders and the broader community throughout the implementation of the project.

“The Department has engaged extensively throughout the planning process and will continue to provide information on project milestones and opportunities for engagement as appropriate,” she said.

Hammond said the steering committee would reconvene once the WCED had made a formal decision regarding its approval.

Regarding the future of the proposed Tokai High School, Hammond said the WCED was finalising the remaining project planning and procurement processes.

“A construction commencement date can only be confirmed once these processes have been concluded and a contractor has been appointed,” she said.

Further details, she added, would be communicated once they become available.

The BVA said it was not questioning the need for additional schools, but rather seeking clarity on whether the proposed school, at its planned scale and location, had been adequately assessed.

“We are not asking whether Cape Town needs more schools. We are asking whether this particular school, at this scale and operating on this site, has been properly assessed, and whether the community representatives appointed to the steering committee are being given a meaningful opportunity to engage with the information and decisions affecting the communities they represent,” said the association.