By closing Bree Street in the Central City on Sunday 17 January 2016 from 10h00 until 15h00, Open Streets Cape Town and the City of Cape Town are giving residents and visitors the opportunity to enjoy the entire space – be it by strolling with their dogs, participating in street games or art, cycling with their families or just walking without the need to be concerned about vehicles.
Says Councillor Brett Herron, the City’s mayoral committee member: Transport for Cape Town: “We are pleased to be working with Open Streets Cape Town in returning to Bree Street to plant the seed for regular Open Streets programmes. We hope to see Open Streets become less of an event and more of a way of living, with shared streets in our city becoming more commonplace. We hope that the Bree Street vehicle-free day inspires other communities to open up their streets by closing them to traffic for a number of hours on a regular basis. We are currently working with the organisers to establish a framework that can enable communities across Cape Town to host Open Streets events in future.”
Marcela Guerrero Casas, managing director of Open Streets Cape Town, adds: “We are working to shift the paradigm of mobility in our city. Jump on the train, a MyCiTi bus, minibus taxi or your bicycle or skateboard and join Open Streets Cape Town to experience the CBD in a radically different way.”
Activities confirmed so far for Sunday 17 January 2016 include a bicycle hub, open mic, zumba, pole-dancing, gymnastics and acrobatics, live graffiti, an art installation, music and an exercise hub.
Says the chief operating officer of the CCID Tasso Evangelinos: “The Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) aims to facilitate a Cape Town CBD that is attractive and welcoming to all Capetonians and visitors alike, and the Open Streets initiative really embraces this concept. Wherever it is held in Cape Town, it always attracts a diverse range of people and enables them to experience an area that they may not necessarily be that familiar with or spend time in. We encourage retailers in and around the event footprint to open on the day and invite the public to come into the CBD and see what a 24/7 downtown could be like as we head in that direction.”
To watch a short clip about Open Streets in Cape Town, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_vVrgNlbk4.
For more details visit www.openstreets.org.za, Facebook or follow @OpenStreetsCT on Twitter.