Launch of the MyCiTi Cycle Lanes! Blaauberg to Cape Town: pedal powered.

D F Malan Street, Cape Town 8000, South Africa

From the City of Cape Town’s website:

           

Neither the headwind nor the early start could dampen the spirits of the more than 300 commuters who crowded the Woodbridge Island parking area at 6am this first day of February. Unlike the 100s of barely moving vehicle drivers on the roads nearby, though, these commuters had left their cars at home…

 

 

The occasion was the official launch of the first section of the City of Cape Town’s segregated bike way, parallel to the soon-to-be-operating MyCiTi bus system along the R27 toward the West Coast.

 

“I’m not sure whether anyone timed it, but you’ll probably find that most of the cyclists took less time to cycle to town even at a leisurely pace than the motorists sitting in the traffic,’ observed Mark Pinder, an associate engineer at Arup who in involved in non-motorised transport planning and design.

Folding bicycles, recumbent bikes, mountain bikes, electric bikes, skateboarders, road bikes, fixed gear bikes, pedestrians and even a couple of tandems (two of which carried the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Alderman Dan Plato, and Cllr Elizabeth Thompson, Mayoral Committee Member for Transport) turned out to celebrate.

 

 

Cllr Thompson is not new to cycling, and has made a point of supporting non-motorised transport innovations and improvements in the city. It is her real hope that Cape Town becomes known as the ‘cycle city’, she says – and her actions show that she means what she says.

 

Says Elton Davids from Pedal Power Association, who steered Cllr Thompson over the 8km single-way route: “It’s fantastic to see the sports cyclists and sports clubs out supporting the route; even though many of them don’t commute by bike at the moment, these lanes could give them just the mind-change we all need. There will be a greater demand for these lanes and will be used more and more not only on weekends. I was encouraged to see so many different kinds of non-motorised ‘vehicles’ all in one space. Loved it.’’

 

Read more here.

 

Now, let’s remember that idiot parking in a cycle lane outside Caveau for a minute…

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