Active Mobility Forum with the support of Pedal Power Association cycle through Adderley Street to promote safe cycle lanes with the new interim mobility minister, Ricardo Mackenzie. Photo Credit Max Sillivan.
Cape Town’s road dynamics changed last week on Sunday, giving a glimpse of what other South African cities could do if road spaces were shared between minority private transport users and the rest of us.
This is the dream we have to live up to as we enter 2023, surrounded by many crises from Eskom, water and sewage to bad governance for our hard-earned democracy under attack.
When our young democracy faces great obstacles according to experts such as Max du Preez and the new community dialogue attended by Professor Bheki Mngomezulu, Professor Christi van der Westhuizen and Lorenzo Davids, we must not forget about individual and collective battles. to make South Africa live for all.
This brings us back to the Cape Town Cycling Tour but, before I talk about the historical significance of the day and its relevance, which is for advocates for safe and connected cycling paths for everyone, we need to understand the state of transport in the Capital City.
Cape Town’s transport woes persist due to the government’s failure to dismantle the apartheid spatial plan, the destruction of the railways by the national government and the near-impossibility of walking or cycling safely in Cape Town or any other South African city.
The state of our infrastructure has been recognized in the Comprehensive Integrated Transport Plan (in) 2023-2028 and also in the new infrastructure report written by the new Directorate of Future Planning and Resilience, which found that the pipeline for urban mobility infrastructure projects is immature. The honest and refreshing report found that there is a “reduced capital expenditure planned after 2026 due to the completion of the southeast corridor of the MyCiTi BRT metro”.
This is very worrying, as the transport crisis worsens with many commuters living in the suburbs still spending hours, and much of their income, on transport.
Former provincial transport minister Robin Carlisle wrote an opinion piece on Cape Argus way back in 2010 said that more Cape Town will become urban sprawl, clogged and congested transportation arteries; the atmosphere is dirtier; stagnating economy and apartheid configuration forever institutionalized.
Carlisle’s speech is particularly difficult because you only have to step outside your home to see how our city has become inhospitable, whether you’re a walker, cyclist or public transport user.
What’s more alarming is that the big projects proposed for the oldest cities usually still increase the capacity of cars-roads which will not increase the congestion but will make it worse. Although this program is disingenuously labeled as a “congestion relief program” in the latest integrated development plan, world-class scientists and engineers are very clear on the negative cascade effect of induced demand when it comes to road congestion.
“Induced demand” refers to the idea that increasing road capacity encourages more people to drive, thereby reducing congestion. This has been scientifically proven since the 1960s, but we still don’t understand this basic concept which is undermining our efforts to solve congestion.
While I understand Cape Town’s new transport plan aims to promote walking and cycling and reduce the use of private cars through the R10 million MyCiTi Phase 2A which includes non-motorized transport (NMT), we need an urgent plan now on how to do it. make the existing bike lanes safe and connect them to the network.
The City of Cape Town has taken some steps to promote cycling and introduce the necessary infrastructure, albeit in a sporadic and ad-hoc manner resulting in a rather disconnected and incomplete network.
More work is needed to maintain and improve the system by meeting planning and engineering design standards.
In particular, we can not use paint as a barrier (class 3 and 4 cycling lanes) and think this will make people feel safe to cycle. We are nowhere near the 2017 Cycling Strategy target, which wants to see 8% of us commuting by 2030 via cycling.
Why? There are no safe bike lanes and most of our bike lanes have been turned into large car parks since they were painted.
Plus as Jodi Allemeier pointed out after this article was published, urban mobility in the City of Cape Town is now just “the performance target is only 9km in the current year for NMT and only 21km in the next year from NMT“.
He added that most of this is to upgrade existing sidewalks, and should not be used to create more bike lanes.
We need to expand the call for more budget and key performance indicators when it comes to bike lanes that will radically introduce safe and connected bike lanes along with eliminating the use of class 3 and 4 bike lanes (paint) on busy roads.
Cape Town Cycling Tour
Stevan Haywod of the Pedal Power Association reminded us in a radio interview with Lester Kiewit, myself and the City of Cape Town Mayco Member for Urban Mobility Rob Quintas about safe cycling infrastructure, that the Cape Town Cycling Tour was “the most successful failure” we have ever experienced. .
Indeed it is.
In 1977, engineer Bill Mylrea and architect John Stegmann began advocating for a safe bicycle network that would keep riders safe and allow commuters to get to and from home safely.
What followed was years of posting and petitioning the government of the day for a safe bicycle network. Even a 3,000-signature petition failed to convince the transport department to explore the possibility. It became clear that cyclists needed to take action, which led to the creation of The Big Ride In by Mylrea and Stegmann.
In 1977, The Big Ride In was organized under the auspices of the newly formed Western Province Pedal Power Association (PPA). The aim is to demonstrate that many people ride bicycles, which is achieved by attracting hundreds of cyclists to the city center of Cape Town, including City Hall, Grand Parade, Adderley Street and the waterfront. Mayor John Tyers was among the participants, making the event impressive, except for the appropriate authority, which remains unconvinced of the need for a bike path.
Fast forward to today, we’re making a request. But this time, not only for politicians in all areas of government, but also many engineers in government. Now we ask the engineers who have the power to take seriously the safety of cyclists and pedestrians and make engineering decisions that prioritize cyclists by ensuring that the built cycle paths are safe (separate barriers, especially on class 2 and 3 roads ) and ensure that it is connected. to another bike lane.
For that, we have been working to solve our network rotation, thank you. Dedicated cycle lanes can provide a safe and respectful means of transport for many where physical barriers such as bollards, planters or curbs can make a world of difference.
Therefore, it is necessary to update Cape Town’s stormwater manual and urban roads to have more effective and cheaper class 2 (physical barriers) options and ensure that any administration that moves forward cannot build class 3 and 4 bike lanes on busy streets with class 2 classification and 3.
Path quickly progressed after the race
As we celebrate the history of the Cape Town Cycling Tour, it is important to remember what the event is really for – to advocate for safe cycling roads for all South Africans. The lack of safe and connected bike lanes has been a major problem in the country for years, and now is the time for all sectors of government and the engineering industry to act.
Cycling, walking and other forms of active mobility make an important contribution to addressing many of the key policy challenges facing Cape Town and South Africa. They address climate change, support healthy lifestyles, improve mental and physical health, reduce cancer risk, increase life expectancy, support the economy and also bring effective catalytic solutions to today’s transportation crisis.
We must continue to push for change and advocate for the safety of all cyclists on our roads.
Because the day when we can allow our children to walk or bike to school safely, or solve congestion by making cycling a viable alternative through a safe and connected infrastructure, we are one big step in saving our country.
Roland Postma is the coordinator of Young urbanist and walked on Active Mobility Forum with Sindile Mavundla to advocate on behalf of all non-private motorized users for infrastructure changes. He seeks to inspire a new generation of South Africans to change their cities and towns.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect official policy or position Mail & Guardians.