Open Streets are taking off

The aim is to create public spaces where people gravitate together

FOUR years and several “experiments” with car-free streets later, the concept of Open Streets is catching on in Cape Town. Open Streets Mitchells Plain, which will transform Eisleben Road on April 2, is the last of the 2016-17 summer series.

But we are bringing one process to an end while starting a new one. We have proven the concept works in different parts of Cape Town but if this programme is to achieve its mission of helping to bridge the social divides of our city, we need to think bigger. As cities grew rapidly in the 20th century, the compact settlement disappeared. Urban sprawl, catalysed by the advent of the highway, moved people far from their places of work, study and recreation. This has led to dependence on cars, and traffic is one of the few shared experiences that remains.

We think it‘s time to bring people closer again. If we prioritise cycling and walking – and if we advocate for the infrastructure needed to nurture public and non-motorised transport use – we create public spaces where people gravitate together. Around the world, congested cities are testing car-free days for different reasons. Beginning in May last year, Paris banned car traffic on the Champs Elysées and surrounding roads on the first Sunday of each month. This added to the 13 areas already announced as part of the “Paris Breathes” campaign to target harmful emissions.

In September, Paris permanently banned cars from a 3.3km stretch of the Right Bank of the river Seine.

In the same month, to celebrate World Car-Free Day, even the motor city of Detroit closed its eight-lane Michigan Avenue – a vision of a post-car world if ever there was one. Car-free days have recently taken place in Madrid, Brussels and Kigali. In fact, the Rwandan capital has introduced monthly car-free days to promote a healthy, active lifestyle. In Cape Town, Open Streets Days take inspiration from Bogotá’s Ciclovía, a recreational programme that creates 120km of car-free streets in the Colombian capital on Sundays and public holidays. We believe we are on the right side of history, as change towards a car-less society is inevitable, especially in a city that simply cannot cope with more congestion. We’re helping the movement along in Cape Town – and hopefully in South Africa at large. Our primary partner, the City of Cape Town’s Transport and Urban Development Authority, last year announced funding for four Open Streets Days. This summer programme kicked off in Langa on October 30. Bellville took place on November 20, in collaboration with the Greater Tygerberg Partnership. The city centre followed on January 15 . Mitchells Plain concludes the series on April 2.

During this summer, Capetonians from across the metropole travelled to where the Open Streets Day was happening. King Langalibalele Drive, Voortrekker Road, and Bree and Longmarket streets became not only a destination but also an urban playground for people who may not have been to those areas before. Residents are eager to open Eisleben Road. This is clear by the large number of requests and proposals we have received. Whether it is people wanting to organise activities or perform or wanting to sell delicious food, the desire to use our streets differently is unquestionable.

As with every Open Streets Day, the formula is simple. We obtain permission to create a road closure from the city and work to mobilise residents and friends of the organisation to bring a fun and free activity to the street. An Open Streets Day is an opportunity for all to explore a street as a space that connects people and to get a glimpse of what the future could be. The series has given Capetonians more opportunities to re-imagine their city. And it has made residents as well as city authorities think about public transport and public space in a different way. The good news is the Transport and Urban Development Authority has reiterated its support for a longterm Open Streets programme in Cape Town. The city directorate is working with us to develop a programme that builds on the “tests”. We want to take the concept to a scale that can meaningfully connect us and help us change how we move around the city.

In the coming months, Open Streets Cape Town and Transport and Urban Development Authority will be planning the next phase with input from far and wide. Streets belong to us all. So we will be asking everyone who has attended or contributed to an Open Streets Day to get involved. And we are asking those who haven’t to give it a try. Mitchells Plain on April 2 is a great place to start your journey with us. This year, we will be staging an Open Streets Day on Eisleben Road between Wespoort Drive and Spine Road, and everyone is welcome. We chose Eisleben Road primarily because local residents and stakeholders requested it. It also aligns with our agenda to “shock the system” by closing a major artery to vehicular traffic. Furthermore, it connects with Spine Road, which forms an important link with Khayelitsha.

Each Open Streets Day is different, they have one thing in the common: the removal of cars from the street brings out the best in the space and in the people who use it.

PICTURE: DAVID RITCHIE Kevin Baker, of the Bellville Traffic Department, looks on as Diso Smouse, 20, performs a jump on his skateboard. This and many other activities took place on November 20 last year on a closed-up section of Voortrekker Road in Bellville for Open...