Concrete block paving rejuvenates Hermanus CBD

Situated in the heart of the central business district (CBD), High St in Hermanus has been upgraded from a traditional asphalt, kerb and pavement through-road, where the car was king, to a shared street with an integrated living space for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles. Kerbing has made way for open stormwater channels which, in conjunction with the new road and pedestrian layouts, have been paved with concrete block paving (CBP) supplied by CMA member CEL Paving Products.

High St’s upgrade forms part of an overall framework plan commissioned by the Overstrand Municipality in 2016. Developed by Gapp Architects, the framework focuses on revamping the CBD, the treatment of public spaces and traffic flows. As one of several development opportunities, the framework identified High St as an important historic route and, as such, recommended transforming it from a traditional shop-and-go precinct into a recreational space.

Hedwig Crooijmans-Lemmer from Gapp Architects and Urban Designers says the Overstrand Municipality has taken the framework plan on board.

“The municipality’s actively promoting the Hermanus CBD and it recognises the important role the quality of the public space plays in promoting tourism and stimulating the CBD’s economy,” she says.

“Business and restaurant owners have suffered from the introduction of shopping malls on the outskirts of the town. Given that High St and the CBD have a lot to offer, we believed that, packaged differently, the area had great potential to pull back the shoppers and tourists. We reasoned that encouraging them to linger and sample High St’s unique mix of shops, boutiques, restaurants and coffee shops, at their leisure, was the best means of achieving this goal.

“Before drawing up our High St plan, we developed a public space manual based on the principles outlined in the overall framework. The manual speaks directly to international best-practice standards in outdoor urban environments and covers aspects such as colour, materials, the principles of greening and the creation of better pedestrian locations.

“By providing more leisure space, we wanted to encourage shops and restaurants

“By providing more leisure space, we wanted to encourage shops and restaurants to spill out onto the sidewalks. We took our cue from other sections of Hermanus which have been redeveloped over the past five to 10 years, including some of the earlier paving projects.”

to spill out onto the sidewalks. We took our cue from other sections of Hermanus which have been redeveloped over the past five to 10 years, including some of the earlier paving projects. We looked at Gearing’s Point and Market Square, where the paving was well received by the local community and has held up well, and we decided to create a sense of place in High St using the same visual language. That was why we chose CEL’s concrete pavers, which had been used on the earlier projects.”

The High St upgrade was implemented in conjunction with the installation of a new stormwater drainage system and both projects were handled by main contractor Meyer Beton Siviele en Boukontrakteurs. In addition to new piping, seven sustainable urban drainage section (SUD) areas were installed at various points along the 300m street. Measuring approximately 1,5 x 5m, the SUDs allow some of the stormwater to drain back into the ground, rather than into the stormwater system. The SUDs have been planted with indigenous shrubs, flowers, ground and trees and will be flanked with benches built with natural stone and wooden seating.

“We’ve also constructed a pergola at the intersection of High and Dirkie Uys Sts. Facing onto High St, it’s integrated with the adjacent pavement and creates an attractive focal point. It will house market stalls and be used for events such as the annual whale festival.

“The number of parking bays has been reduced in High St, which is always a contentious issue. However, our public space initiative has enjoyed good support from local officials, politicians, businesses and organisations such as the History Society,” says Crooijmans-Lemmer.

The new stormwater network, designed and managed by Element Consulting Engineers, forms part of Overstrand’s new stormwater master plan for Hermanus.

“It was during the planning phase of the stormwater network that we learnt about the High St Revitalisation Project,” says

Element civil engineer Uli du Toit.

“To eliminate unnecessary expenditure and disruptions to the residents and businessowners in High St, I proposed that both projects be implemented simultaneously. It made no sense to resurface High St twice, with asphalt after the pipe installation and again a few months later with concrete block paving. So Element and GAPP integrated their design proposals and coordinated the installation and positioning of elements such as the stormwater network, paving, SUDs, trees, bollards, benches, pergola footings, etc.

“Moreover, while our structural engineers provided valuable input in optimising the pergola’s design, our electrical engineers were involved with the design of new streetlights, as well as the relocation and replacement of aged electrical underground cables prior to the installation of the concrete pavers.”

Precast concrete stormwater pipes for the entire CBD stormwater upgrade project, which ranged from ø450-ø900 mm, supplied by CMA member Rocla.

“Measuring approximately 1,5 x 5m, the SUDs allow some of the stormwater to drain back into the ground, rather than into the stormwater system.”

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