Capetonians are loving the new 16km dedicated cycle path from Cape Town’s city centre to Table View and the rest of the country are green with envy. Bicycling chatted to some of the guys responsible for this fantastic piece of cycling engineering.
The new cycling path from Cape Town to Table View is a completely separate bike path, three metres wide, following the new Integrated Rapid Transport (IRT) bus lane, along the R27 for the most part, for pedestrians and cyclists to enjoy. At 16km, it is the longest dedicated cycle path in the country and cyclists of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds are enjoying the path and reaping the benefits. Not only is it now significantly faster and safer to commute into town than travelling by car, but it is also encouraging families and recreational cyclists to get out and enjoy a safe form of exercise, plus it is creating awareness to motorists that cycling is a popular form of transport and exercise. The cycle path project took two years to build and cost on average R1 million per kilometer. And the best part? When the wind is howling and you don’t feel like riding home, you can hop on a bus. Yes, bikes are allowed! There will also be dedicated security guards at all bus stations, CCTV cameras in stations and on the route itself and lighting along the entire route.
We met with government officials and the various consultants involved in the city-wide network of integrated transport. All are avid cyclists and what was meant to be a quick chat specifically about the CT/Table View bike path turned into a discussion about the past, present and future of the complete transport plan for Cape Town. Capetonians, you can look forward to lots of exciting plans in the near future! For starters, any IRT bus lane constructed from now on, will have a dedicated cycle path alongside it. The team was quick to point out, that whilst the West Coast corridor is certainly the longest dedicated cycle path in CT, it’s by no means the first. There have already been numerous cycle paths constructed to date across the city, of various classes. Class 1 being an entirely separate cycle path through parks etc, Class 2 follows an existing road network (the Table View path is an example of this) and Class 3 which is a demarcated area on an existing road. In fact, you can now ride from Big Bay (up the West Coast) all the way to Three Anchor Bay (Atlantic Seabaord) on dedicate cycle paths. Who’s up for a Bay To Bay Urban Cycle Challenge?
But here’s a quick interview specifically on the Cape Town / Table View cycle path. As Ron Haiden, Manager: IRT Infrastructure said, it is arguably “right up there with the best in the world”.
How did this particular project first come about?
There has been a master plan for cycling in Cape Town since the 80’s, but there were cycling paths for school children even earlier. For this particular project we consulted with Dr Lloyd Wright. He is a guru (for want of a better word) in all things related to integrated transport. He took us to Bogota, Columbia which is renowned for its car-free Sundays and integrated transport.
Where does it start and finish? Can you give us a brief description of the route?
The path starts at the Civic Centre and makes its way along the new bus lane and through Paarden Eiland and then onto the R27. It currently ends at Bayside Shopping Centre, some 16km later but there are plans to extend the route to the Sandown Road intersection (West Coast Village).
What will happen to the start of the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour start, seeing as it starts at the Civic Centre?
The design of the IRT infrastructure around the Civic Centre has been specifically altered to allow for the start of the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour. In particular, the raised concrete bumps that usually separate the red busway from normal traffic lanes have been permanently removed here and the signage has been specifically designed so that it can be removed to prevent injuries during the large batch starts on Hertzog Boulevard.
Many cyclists find that the stretch that goes through Paarden Eiland is very isolated after hours and potentially dangerous. Wouldn’t it have been better for the path to go straight into town?
We decided to take the path through Paarden Eiland for two reasons; 1) When you hit the freeway, you encounter a problem of where to put the path. 2) We wanted to service the residents in the area and also those working in Paarden Eiland, plus there are numerous CCTV cameras and sufficient lighting all along the BRT, making it a much safer route for the cyclists.
Do the cyclists get right of way at intersections, or do they have to stop at red traffic lights etc.
Cyclists need to obey all traffic rules. Cyclists also have to remember that the path is for pedestrians too. The idea is to keep left at all times. At all the intersections where pedestrian traffic is heaviest, the paving is a different design to alert cyclists to slow down to negotiate pedestrians and turning traffic.
Who will be in charge of maintaining these paths?
When the buses are in operation (hopefully March), it will be written into the contract that whoever is in charge of maintaining the bus stations, will be responsible for the maintenance of the cycle paths, and to ensure they are swept clean of all debris, glass and thorns.
What has the feedback been like?
Incredible. Initially, we had some resistance from cyclists not wanting to ”ride on the pavement” but now that they have seen how well the cycle lane works, there has definitely been a mind shift.
Have you had any complaints to date?
Just that there are some bollards and street lights (just past Woodbridge Island) which some people don’t see and have crashed into. We will be removing the bollards, but unfortunately the street lights have to stay. Below the ground there is a host of pipes and cables, so we had limited choice as to where the street lights could go. There is ample space to ride around them though, so cyclists just need to be aware.
Are there any plans for more paths like this in Cape Town?
Definitely. It will take time though…
Do you know if there are any plans for paths like this elsewhere in the country?
In Pretoria there are plans for a similar NMT plan. Johannesburg decided to only build bus lanes and not to include cycle paths.
Well done to Cape Town for their forward thinking and to giving the cyclists of Cape Town a safe training and commuting route. Those cyclists up-country, be sure to come and check it out when next in town!
Thanks to the following people for taking the time to meet with us and share the above information:
Ronald Haiden – Manager: Integrated Rapid Transport (IRT) Infrastructure
Andre Frieslaar – Design Engineer, Consultant to the City of Cape Town: Infrastructure
Teuns Kok – Non-motorised transports (NMT) Planning and Infrastructure
Jaco Jordaan – Landscape Architect, who lives in Melkbos and regularly rides on the path into town.
Click here for some more pics and feedback from riders on the new cycle path
We ride on the new cycling lane every weekend and got my partner to enter The Argus because she could train now without truck’s and cars trying to take her out. Wonderful Cape Town , and soon there will also be busses running into the city.
Now we can put up some toll booths; and a few mc’donut’s cycle through service centres.. look forward to visiting such regions of the world soon. well done, your cycle path is a great show of road building.
I live and work in Gauteng and work the ideal distance from home to cycle but I have 1 thing to contend with appart from road hogs, I would have to pass two informal settlements to get to work, I am just scared I get highjacked on my way to or from work, I have seen some nice mongoose & Giant mountainbikes there, I wonder how that was accquired.
I would really appreciate something like this in my area.
Love em!
They have changed my commuting life for the good. They have added 90 minutes to my day for me to enjoy as I please.
Well done Cape Town! I’ll definitely check it out on a training ride when I am Cape Town for the 2011 Argus. Wish the Joburg city fathers would catch a wake up and do something similar, however as mentioned by Theo P, the risks are high of being bike jacked or taxi whipped. The dedicated bike lane would have to be complete seperated from the road by a barrier of some sort to ensure that it is used only for NMT other wise it would become a taxi drop off/pick up zone.
Come on Joburg, you have the second biggest cycling event in the world which you love bragging about- do something to encourage the use of bicycles in the city to reduce congestion!
That city looks so beautiful! I want to go there so bad, we can’t even hold a candle to what they have to offer out there. The hard work put into that would be such a joy to ride.
Dr. Becky W. Davis
Health Plans
I love the cycle lanes. They really are brilliant.
My one concern is that there are already areas which are almost overgrown with devil thorn bushes. The thorns blow onto the cycle lanes and cover it in some areas. I pick up 2 or 3 thorns on each trip to town and back. I often see guys sitting on the side of the road fixing punctures.
This should definately be looked at and the thorn bush growth should be removed completely. It really stops a lot of people using the lanes for reliable travel.
Ryan
The are excellent, did not realise the lane went all the way through Paarden Eiland which we tried this weekend and apart from the stop start at a few of the concrete blocks going through, it was a great ride. Well done Cape Town, now all we need is Virgin Active to sell shower vouchers so we can take a shower before starting workin the mornings :-)
Did the ride from blouberg to just where path ends at the fleamarket and back. It’s now completely free of thorns and other debris and it really is a blast! If you go early enough you can get up to speed [around 40kph] since there’s only a few other dedicated cyclists around at 07h00 on a Sunday morning.
Have fun against the South Easter, it’ll really work your cardio system!
Enjoying the bicycle lane. Really great idea but the devil thorns are everywhere. I picked up 5 between Table View and Sunset beach.
Hope that it gets sorted out otherwise going to end up using the road again.
I have to say I agree with other poster. Myself and my wife started cycling because we live right beside the cycle lane but after 13 punctures we’re having to stop using the lane…it’s a real pity…it’s potentially a great asset but unless something is put in place to clean it people will stop using it :-(
I drive to Town every morning for work (+1hr drive), and have noticed more and more people using the bicycle lane. I haven’t ridden a bicycle in a while, but this has really tweaked my interest.
I can’t stop thinking about the possibilities.
I have seen many cyclists on the side of the road with their punctured tubes in their hands so I think Prima Tubes (or simaliar, if that still exists) would probably be the way to go.
I’m renting a bicycle tomorrow from a shop in Table View to give it a try, before buying one. Bicycles have become astranomically expensive in 20 years.
I’ve seen a bicycle cost half the price of my vehicle… that doesn’t make sense to me at all.
I’m hoping to save money on fuel, and semi boy cott the whole institution of it – when fuel prices go up, millions more starve and life gets harder for all of us. (not to mention the polution benefits) Enough is enough.
Can you imagine of everyone stopped using cars, and just cycled. The Fuel Market would crumble. Imagine the roads being used only for bicycles, not a car in sight :) – wow, wouldn’t that be amazing.
I just got my hands on a bicycle and I am dead keen to make use of these cycling lanes. My only concern though as pointed out by other cyclist are the thorns. I am certainly not in the mood to be fixing tires every time I ride to work. The time saving would be completely nulled by this. Currently I ride a motorcycle to work but want to go the green route.
Can some of the other cyclists give some insights into how bad the thorn problem is?
Werner, if you got a mountain bike and you are really worried about thorns, get tyre-liners plus put Slime in the tubes (or better yet, buy tubes with sealant already in them).
It does add a bit of weight, but practically eliminates the chances of getting punctures from thorns or most other things.
I’d rather work a little bit harder than fix a punture :)