The public got to experience Bellville like never before when a section of Voortrekker Road was closed to cars on Sunday November 20 for Open Streets Bellville.
The road between the intersections of Durban Road and Oos Street buzzed with excitement, as cyclists, skaters and children enjoyed the freedom of a car-free piece of road.
“Our programme has gone from being an experiment to getting people excited about the potential for long-term impact on the city,” said Open Streets Cape Town co-founder and managing director, Marcela Guerrero Casas.
“Transport for Cape Town has reiterated its support and intention to ‘ramp it up’ by green-lighting four Open Streets days.
“We are pleased to have partnered with the Greater Tygerberg Partnership (GTP) for the Bellville event.”
Activities on the day included: street soccer by Mould Empower Serve (MES) and the Somali Mini Football Club; capoeira, a Brazilian martial art; an exhibition of Voortrekker Road photographs; and a pop-up skateboard park.
Derek Bock, of the Voortrekker Road Corridor Improvement District (VRCID), said the Open Street day brought “people together in a way that helps to create trust; the basis of genuine security”.
Brett Herron, mayoral committee member for transport, said the concept gave residents and visitors to Cape Town the chance to “walk, cycle, skate, play or perform” without having to worry about their safety.
“The progression from a collection of ‘events’ to a cohesive series of Open Streets days has been a graduation from a ‘proof of concept’ to the first steps of a long-term city wide programme.”
This was the second in a new six-month long series of Open Streets days. Last month, the city held an Open Streets day in Langa.
The Cape Town CBD will hold an Open Streets day on January 15 next year.