A car-free inner city

CAPE TOWN: ENVISAGING CBD WHERE PEDESTRIANS, CYCLISTS DOMINATE

- Liesl Peyper

Cape Town's central business district (CBD) should, in the future, be essentially car-free, where freeways and bypass routes allow vehicles but inner streets are safe and accessible for pedestrians and cyclists.

This is what the City of Cape Town envisages in its draft Mobility and Access plan, specifically designed for the CBD.

The document forms part of the city's Local Spatial Development Framework (LSDF) and is currently open for public comment.

A car-free inner city also means significantly fewer parking bays for Capetonians in a heavily congested CBD.

The city acknowledges that the overarching idea of the mobility plan is to "decongest" the CBD by restricting vehicle access and giving preference to pedestrians and cyclists.

This includes measures to create a more walkable and cycle-friendly CBD for residents and visitors by imposing a 30km/hour speed limit on vehicles and designing dedicated cycle and pedestrian routes.

The city, which has already seen significant population growth in the past decade, foresees even more growth until 2040.