Congestion Effects of the 2010 FIFA World Cup

The progression of the 2010 FIFA world cup in South Africa has brought with it tremendous excitement and thrill from the matches that have been played so far, and this exhilaration will only improve as the tournament heads towards the latter stages. Fans and supporters of soccer, which has been a symbolic and cohesive force so far, have thoroughly enjoyed the intensity with which most matches have been played, and the externalities, which it has given rise to, such as the controversial noise of the vuvuzela. Likewise, fans and supporters are also relishing the atmosphere and ambiance of fan fest parks. However, even with all these festivities taking place at the stadiums and fan fest parks, a major negativity resulting from the enormity of people attending these facilities, has been the congestion of traffic to and from these facilities on match days.

It has been a struggle to say the least, from my experience, arriving at these locations smoothly and punctually. One has to arrive at the match location about two and a half hours before it commences in order to find adequate parking. The closure of roads around the stadium, for example in Durban, does not help the cause of finding close and safe parking. The same can be said about the locations where most fan fest parks are held. It can become extremely busy and hectic at these fan fest parks in terms of finding parking. With the substantial amount of fans and supporters desiring to enjoy the ecstasy of the world cup at these fan fest parks and stadiums, it only creates a recipe for congestion development. For example, attending the fan fest park at South Beach in Durban, one has to park approximately two to three kilometres away from the fan fest park location, if one does not arrive early enough to find parking closer to this location, which indicates that Durban's beach front roads are currently unable to manage large car numbers.

The traffic concerns caused by the closure of roads around stadiums and the limited number of available opened lanes for traffic flow has resulted in fans being delayed at matches. This problem also has resulted in fans waiting for substantial amounts of time when exiting a stadium's location. According to Guardian writer Paul Wilson, even though South Africa is trying to show its best face to the world, there are indications that it has been a bit shocked by the enormity of the world cup so far. "You can have all the rehearsals in the world but nothing really prepares you for the day when over 80,000 spectators turn up for a World Cup match in a new stadium, and that was the case in the opening game at Soccer City, when traffic jams on the road to the ground from the city centre were so bad that a journey of little over 10 miles took some people four hours" (Wilson 2010). The problem of smooth traffic flow does bring about a notion that South Africa's transportation network may be too small to adequately manage the influx of fans brought in by the world cup. If South Africa is to host another major sporting event of the FIFA world cup's calibre, consideration of substantial admendments to the roads surrounding places where sporting activities will take place, should be undertaken. South Africa, more specifically Durban, plans to bid for the 2020 Olympics, and hence may stand a better chance of winning it if they attend to this problem.

Even though traffic flow problems have been a concern among fans, they are not allowing this problem to dampen their mood and the atmosphere and thrill of the world cup. This event happens only once in four years, and possibly once in a lifetime for the host country, and so people will enjoy the novelty of the world cup in their own backyard, no matter what. The world cup is here. Feel it!

References:

Wilson, P., 2010, World Cup 2010: The football's good but congestion leaves fans in jam, www.guardian.co.uk

Accessed 27 June 2010