ROAM FREELY WITH NO- TRAFFIC OPEN STREETS

OPEN Streets have been taking place in Cape Town since 2013 and, following the success of the last one held last October, Main Road between Observatory and District Six will be closed to vehicular traffic tomorrow from 9am until 2pm, for people to reclaim streets as public spaces – for walking, cycling, skating, playing, exploring and socialising.

Open Streets Cape Town is a citizen-driven NPO, in partnership with the City of Cape Town’s Transport and Urban Development Authority, and with the financial support of the WWF Nedbank Green Trust, Millennium Trust and Woolworths, as well as the help of many volunteers, residents and friends. The objective is to create shared spaces to help bridge social and spatial divides and encourage people to think differently about how we move around. The theme is: “Coming together to create solidarity around the water crisis”.

One activity will be “Hack the Water Crisis, Cape Town”; co-hosted by Cape Town Science Centre, in conjunction with

Open Streets Main Road, to bring people together to share information, develop new technologies, ask important questions and find and share DIY solutions that work.

Julie Cleverdon, director of Cape Town Science Centre, said: “We are convening the hackathon to harvest designs and identify promising water conservation and harvesting technologies.”

Other activities along the route will include: a WWF water wise hub, a reading corner by Nal’ibali, first aid demonstrations by St John’s Ambulance, street salsa by SunKissed Salsa, street soccer, roller skating by Cape Town Rollergirls, meditation, live music, live graffiti, the Miss Earth South Africa water awareness campaign, and much more.

Open Streets Cape Town co-founder and managing director Marcela Guerrero Casas said this particular route was the longest in the history of Open Streets in Cape Town.

“We expect people to use the space in similar ways to last year… cycling, skating, walking and taking part in various activities our volunteer partners are organising.”

Use public transport to get there – minibus taxi, the Golden Arrow Bus Service (Gabs), Metrorail and MyCiTi.

“Gabs has been supportive... and Metrorail has allowed us to put up posters,” Casas added.

Participants can join the #AtoBChallenge Bike Bus and cycle to Main Road from Knead in Muizenberg at 9am.

For more information, email info@openstreets.co.za or go to www.openstreets.org.za

PICTURE: JASON BOUD OWN THE STREETS: Last year, Open Streets transformed Eisleben Road in Mitchells Plain into a vibrant and inclusive space.