A day of fun and games is promised as the City launches ‘Open Streets for Cape Town’ at the Grassy Park Civic Centre this Sunday, 21 October 2012 as part of its Transport Month celebrations. All residents are invited to walk or cycle to Victoria Road and experience active mobility.
The concept of “Open Streets” revolves around the closing of streets to vehicular traffic and opening them up to people traffic to enjoy the public space, urban culture and active mobility. It enables the citizens of Cape Town to reclaim the use of public urban space and discover opportunities for shared experiences by creating a network of safe, car-free areas and routes throughout the city.
The City annually closes streets for various activities such as marathons, parades, concerts and big events, however the launching of “Open Streets for Cape Town” is special in that the aim is ultimately to integrate communities by providing a paved space where people can discover how easy and convenient it is to reach places by walking and cycling. The long-term vision is to evolve into Open Streets across the City which celebrates public spaces and urban culture while encouraging people to be actively mobile by choosing non-motorised forms of transport.
“On Sunday October 21, we will close Victoria Road in Grassy Park, between 5th Avenue and Klip Road including all the intersecting avenues from 09:00 to 14:00 for a fun day full of activities for the whole family. We will be working in partnership with organisations such as the Bicycle Empowerment Network (BEN), Pedal Power Association (PPA) and Bicycle Cape Town in planning the activities for the day,” said Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Roads and Stormwater, Councillor Brett Herron. This will have an impact on traffic flow in the area and motorists are advised to plan their trips accordingly.
The public is encouraged to bring their bicycles for tuning and advice, receive cycle safety training, kiddies cycle training, skateboard training, play street soccer, street cricket, rope skipping, hopscotch, learning to zumba, yoga training for kids, cycling and walking.
“We are thrilled that the City sees the potential in this initiative and is willing to test it. The campaign is indeed off to a good start but the work needs to continue in order to ensure the sustainability and the long-term impact of what ‘Open Streets’ aims to achieve. ‘Open Streets’ must continue to develop as a multi-stakeholder effort which activates the necessary actors to effectively ‘open streets’, not just as a single event, but to make streets places for citizens to play, develop, interact and grow together, ” says the Bicycle Network.
Please call the Transport Information Centre on 0800 65 64 63 for more information.
