Commuters passing the centre on one of the busiest routes in Sandton will benefit from the planned upgrades to the surrounding roads which are being undertaken as part of the landmark shopping centre’s redevelopment.

The road upgrades alone total an investment of some R2 million in the community. These improvements to the surrounding road network will ensure easy access to the centre as well as serve to help bring relief to the traffic congestion in this bustling node.

Superbly located on the corner of Outspan and Rivonia Roads in Morningside, Sandton, Morningside Shopping Centre was recently purchased by Flanagan & Gerard Property Development and Investment and Grapnel Property Group. The new owners are undertaking a vibrant redevelopment, which is already well underway and scheduled to open in June 2009 and in conjunction with the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), will be improving the roads in the immediate area.

To ensure the best possible flow of traffic around the new centre, the developers consulted road engineers PD Naidoo and Associates to undertake a thorough traffic impact assessment.

Road improvements include the upgrading of Outspan Road, between Rivonia Road and slightly west of Waggon Street. Outspan Road will be enlarged from two lanes to five, with two lanes for traffic travelling in each direction, and also a third central right-turn lane for traffic turning into Rivonia Road.

For increased traffic safety the access to Morningside Shopping Centre from Rivonia Road will be relocated closer to the Outspan Road intersection, and the entrance will be upgraded.

Waggon Street, which is located on the west side of Morningside Shopping Centre will be widened to include a second lane for north-bound traffic.

“Everyone is going to win. These represent major improvements to the surrounding roads and will assist to relieve the bottleneck which currently exists. Residents as well as commuters will benefit from these upgrades,” says co-developer Patrick Flanagan.

Upgrades to traffic signal timings will also better cater for traffic flows. Furthermore, additional improvements are also currently being considered by the JRA and the Morningside Shopping Centre developers.

The redevelopment will create a substantially larger two-level, AAA-grade retail centre with a unique tenant mix designed to provide convenient, quality lifestyle retail to its market, which includes some of South Africa’s wealthiest suburbs.

The new design utilises the fall across the site to offer ground floor shopping at the Rivonia Road level and ground floor shopping off Waggon Street to the west of the site. The two levels will be linked by lifts and escalators in a naturally lit central atrium. Vehicle access to the centre will be available from both roads.

The increased number of shoppers which will be attracted to the new, larger Morningside Shopping Centre with its wider variety of shops, will be easily facilitated by the new upgrades.

The planned Morningside Shopping Centre tenant mix will be led by a niche food store, and should encompass, specialist food stores, services such as banks, hairdressers, health and beauty professionals, book and music stores, unique coffee shops and patisseries, restaurants and fast food stores and speciality traders that will add to the offering to cater for needs of the community.