Durban Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Roads === [[File:DurbanN3-aerial.jpg|thumb|N3 freeway on its approach to Durban's CBD, with N2βN3 [[stack interchange]] in the foreground]] The city's main position as a [[port of entry]] onto the southern African continent has led to the development of [[National Roads in South Africa|national roads]] around it. The [[N3 road (South Africa)|N3 Western Freeway]], which links Durban with the economic hinterland of [[Gauteng]], heads west out of the city. The [[Durban Outer Ring Road|N2 Outer Ring Road]] links Durban with the [[Eastern Cape]] to the south, and [[Mpumalanga]] in the north. The Western Freeway is particularly important because freight is shipped by truck to and from the [[Witwatersrand]] for transfer to the port. The N3 Western Freeway starts in the central business district and heads west under Tollgate Bridge and through the suburbs of Sherwood and Mayville. The [[EB Cloete Interchange]] (which is informally nicknamed the [[Spaghetti Junction]]) lies to the west of Durban and east of [[Westville, KwaZulu-Natal|Westville]], allowing for transfer of traffic between the N2 [[Durban Outer Ring Road|Outer Ring Road]] and the Western Freeway. The N2 Outer Ring Road cuts through the city from the [[KwaZulu-Natal North Coast|north coast]] to the [[South Coast (KwaZulu-Natal)|south coast]]. It provides a vital link to the coastal towns (such as [[Amanzimtoti]], [[Kingsburgh, KwaZulu-Natal|Kingsburgh]], [[Scottburgh]], [[Umkomaas|eMkhomazi]], [[Ballito]] and [[KwaDukuza]]) that rely on Durban. Durban also has a system of freeway and [[Dual carriageway|dual arterial]] [[Metropolitan Routes in Durban|metropolitan routes]], which connect the sprawling suburbs that lie to the north, west and south of the city. The [[M4 (Durban)|M4]] exists in two segments. The northern segment, named the Ruth First Highway, starts as an alternative highway from the [[R102 (South Africa)|R102]] in [[Ballito]] and shortly after intersects the N2. It passes through the seaside towns and villages of La Mercy and [[eMdloti]] before becoming a dual carriageway in [[UMhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal|uMhlanga]], north of Durban and ending at the northern edge of the CBD. The southern segment of the M4, the [[Albert Lutuli]]<ref>[http://www.durban.gov.za/durban/services/services_news/red-tar-for-southern-freeway]{{dead link|date=March 2013}}</ref> Highway, starts at the southern edge of the CBD, connecting through to the old, decommissioned Durban International Airport, where it once again reconnects at the southern end of the N2 Outer Ring Road. The [[M7 (Durban)|M7]] connects the southern industrial basin of Durban with the N3 and [[Pinetown]] via [[Queensburgh]] via the N2. The [[M19 (Durban)|M19]] connects the inner northern suburbs of Durban with Pinetown via [[Westville, KwaZulu-Natal|Westville]] and the [[M41 (Durban)|M41]] connects [[Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal|uMhlanga]] and [[Phoenix, KwaZulu-Natal|Phoenix]] via [[Mount Edgecombe]] and the N2. The [[M13 (Durban)|M13]] (King Cetshwayo Highway) is an untolled alternative to the N3 Western Freeway (which is tolled at Mariannhill) and is an important commuter route linking the nearby towns and suburbs to the west of Durban such as [[Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal|Hillcrest]], [[Gillitts]], [[Kloof]], Pinetown and Westville to the city. In the late 2000s 107 streets in Durban were renamed, typically to honour individuals involved in the antiapartheid or international revolutionary movements, with two-thirds of the streets named after individuals associated with the governing [[African National Congress]]. This was done in two stages; a first, smaller one, which renamed eighteen streets and was met with some trepidation by opposition parties, particularly the [[Democratic Alliance (South Africa)|Democratic Alliance]], the [[Inkatha Freedom Party]], and the [[Minority Front]], and a second, larger stage, which renamed 99 streets and was met with considerably wider opposition after the controversy of the first and the minimal time between them.<ref>[http://www.durban.gov.za/durban/government/renaming/Final%20Listt-%20Street%20Naming2.xls]{{dead link|date=September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Independent Newspapers Online |url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/new-road-names-go-up-1.406687 |title=New road names go up β Politics | IOL News |work=Independent Online |location=South Africa |date=2 July 2008 |access-date=2011-09-16}}</ref> The first group was met with some opposition from This process was met with outrage from both opposition parties and the parts of the general public, as well as incidents of vandalism against the new road signs. The [[Democratic Alliance (South Africa)|Democratic Alliance]], [[Inkatha Freedom Party]], and [[Minority Front]] were concerned with their lack of participation in the process, and that the emphasis on individuals affiliated with the ANC presented a partisan image of the antiapartheid struggle. Among the general public there was significant opposition from middle-class [[white South Africans]], [[Indian South Africans]], and [[Zulu nationalists]], who believed that the new names should have a connection to the people and the history of the locality. In response, the ANC characterized the project as a transformation and part of progressive social change, characterizing their opponents as being "antitransformation" and "pro-apartheid".<ref>{{cite book |first=James |last=Bainbridge |year=2009 |url=https://archive.org/details/southafricalesot0000bain |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/southafricalesot0000bain/page/302 302] |title=South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland |publisher=Lonely Planet |access-date=2011-09-16|isbn=9781742203751 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Wines |first=Michael |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/25/world/africa/25durban.html |title=Where the Road to Renaming Does Not Run Smooth |work=The New York Times |date=25 May 2007 |access-date=2011-09-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Duminy |first1=James |title=Street Renaming, Symbolic Capital, and Resistance in Durban, South Africa |journal=Environment and Planning D: Society and Space |date=April 2014 |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=310β328 |doi=10.1068/d2112 |s2cid=143940799 }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page