It’s Open Streets City Centre, in Bree Street, Cape Town CBD on Sunday 27 January.
Mark your calendar for the last Sunday of the next three months!
On 27 January, Open Streets start off by transforming Bree Street into a shared space for all to move with their own steam at Open Streets City Centre.
“We are excited to show Capetonians what a car-free city centre could look like by providing an opportunity to explore different forms of mobility and use of the street as public space. Remember you can take part in this little experiment by joining the bike bus, walking, cycling, skating or taking public transport on the day. If you have other ideas about how we can communicate the ethos of the day, please let us know! Also, there is still space for activities, so please sign up here if you’d like to be part of creating the day. We would also appreciate your help with spreading the word by sharing the Facebook event!”
NEWS FLASH
On Sunday 27 January, between 09h00 and 14h00, ‘Open Streets City Centre’ will transform Bree Street into a shared public space for all.
In the spirit of co-creating this Sunday morning street life, there are already more than 20 activities registered, to be hosted voluntarily by groups and organisations including Community Chest, College of Magic, Marimba Jam, Cape Town Aikido, Balisa Nathi Storytelling Collective and Twenty Skeight.
“This is an opportunity to connect with others who dream of a more sustainable and cohesive Cape Town. We invite everyone to join in with a game, something to teach, showcase or share. This is our chance to bring out the best in all of us in Cape Town”, says Rebecca Campbell, Programmes Director at OSCT.
In line with the invitation to foster better movement and mobility in Cape Town, there will be bike buses (groups of cyclists riding together along a set route) for people who want to cycle to Open Streets City Centre.
Three are already scheduled to depart the Southern Suburbs, Gugulethu and Sea Point, and people are also encouraged to organise their own group ride with friends or family. The aim is to get participants to have a positive experience of what it’s like to commute by bicycle so that hopefully in the course of the year they will join initiatives such as OSCT’s #Bike2Work – see below.
“There is untapped potential in fostering commuter cycling in our city,” says Pedal Power Association CEO Robert Vogel. “In 2018 we saw increased interest among our members to cycle to work. This year, we are working with our partners – including OSCT – to find ways of encouraging individuals and also of private companies in encouraging their employees to adopt cycling as a mode of transport by making it convenient and attractive through incentives.”.
Having worked in various parts of Cape Town, OSCT is also inviting their partners in Langa, Mitchells Plain, Bellville and Woodstock to bring some of the flair of activities from these diverse neighbourhoods to the day.
One of these is Guga S’thebe Cultural Centre in Langa. Its manager, Marco Morgan, says:“The Open Streets ‘movement’ is about moving out of our comfort zones. In a segregated city like Cape Town it is crucial that we find ways to experience public space together. In a way, that helps us imagine a different future.”
Open Streets City Centre will take place from 09h00 till 14h00, with the road closures in place from 08h00 till 15h00. For more information and to register an activity, contact info@openstreets.co.za or 021 286 0823.
Thereafter, Open Streets return to
- Langa on 24 February and to
- Mitchells Plain on 31 March.
#Bike2Work
The launch of this campaign last year taught OPen Streers a great deal and they will be delving into new tools that can help us support the growth of commuting cyclists in Cape Town.
“We are in in conversations with our partners – including PPA, BEN and Bicycle South – about how we take this forward so please stay tuned! For now, please join the Bike Bus to Open Streets City Centre to start getting in the mood and look out for dates to start cycling to work with us again.”
See also Cape Town Green Map
About Open Streets Days
Open Streets is a citizen-driven initiative working to change how we use, perceive and experience streets. It was formed in 2012 to challenge the model of urban mobility by carrying out campaigns, temporary interventions, dialogues and walks that raise citizen awareness, spark public debate and ultimately drive behaviour change around the role of streets in the life of the city. Its flagship programme is the series of Open Streets Days that have been held in Woodstock, Observatory, Bellville, Langa, Mitchells Plain and the Cape Town CBD.
Open Streets Cape Town is supported by the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI), the City of Cape Town, WWF Nedbank Green Trust, and many volunteers, residents and friends.
Open Streets City Centre is part of a local programme inspired by Colombia’s Ciclovía. The concept is to close down a street temporarily so that it becomes car-free. It’s a chance for people to reclaim streets as public space, for walking, cycling, skating, playing, exploring and general socialising. Open Streets suspends reality and allows us to imagine a new “normal” for our streets. Watch a short video here
Why Open Streets Days?
Open Streets aims to create shared spaces that help bridge the social and spatial divides in Cape Town, and encourage us all to think differently about how we move around the city.
Website I Twitter: @OpenStreetsCT I Facebook and Instagram: @OpenStreetsCapeTown
