People who visit, live and work here believe that the Cape Town CBD is the cleanest CBD in the country. This was confirmed in the 2012 Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) User Survey, where 88.3% of respondents said Cape Town’s CBD is best rated in terms of cleanliness.
In order to maintain this high quality environment, the CCID today announced that it has introduced new urban management projects in the Central City.
State-of-the-art street sweeper machines
The CCID has introduced sweeper machines into its urban management programme, thanks to its supplier Industro Clean. These machines have a circular sweeping capability that allows the team to sweep faster and more effectively. Industro Clean’s consultant, Rolf Hillermann, explains that this is the first time these sweepers have been used in an urban management environment within Cape Town: “Our user-friendly sweepers are most commonly used in and around industrial properties and shopping malls, so we were excited to see them being applied to CBD street sweeping, enabling the CCID to do the job as efficiently as possible.”
The sweepers will be rolled out in public spaces including St George’s Mall, The Company’s Garden, Thibault Square, the Fan Walk, and Lower Long and Jetty streets every day between 11h00 and 15h00.
Cigarette bins
Small as they may seem, discarded cigarette butts are the greatest contributing factors to pollution within the CBD. The CCID has installed stronger, tamper-proof cigarette bins that will be emptied every week. By mid-March almost 300 bins will be located in all of the CBD’s smoking hotspots.
“To go the extra mile in keeping the CBD clean, we have also introduced the My Ash Box pouches, which extinguish cigarette butts and lock in their fumes, to encourage smokers to stash away their butts conveniently instead of littering. These pouches are being distributed by the Urban Management department at various public spaces, office buildings, retailers and hotels,” says Tasso Evangelinos, chief operating officer of the CCID.
“Our goal is to ensure that the Cape Town CBD remains a world-class destination, from top to bottom. We believe that the heart and soul of this CBD is on its streets and in between the buildings. The measures we’re implementing will help to ensure these public spaces remain walkable and enjoyable, and that the CBD remains a vibrant, quality environment in which to work, live and play.”
300 jobs created a month
There is more to the CCID’s urban management projects than beautification alone. One of the key elements of the urban management services provided by CCID is that it supports job creation. The CCID works with NGO partner Straatwerk in an initiative that combines social development with urban management. Through this programme, around 300 employment opportunities are made available each month to people who are either living on the street or destitute, in order to help them build better lives. The Straatwerk workers in their brightly coloured vests are seen across the CBD, working on the various urban beautification projects.
Lighting up the CBD
A walkable CBD also needs to be a liveable one that can be enjoyed 24/7. According to the User Survey conducted by the CCID, CBD users said that good street lighting would make them feel safer in the CBD. To encourage nighttime usage of the CBD, the CCID embarked on a tree-lighting project in Greenmarket Square, an important public space. The square is now lit up from 18h00 until 01h00, all year round. This the first phase of the project, which will be rolled out across the Central City in due course.
“We never underestimate the important role that well maintained public spaces plays in attracting and retaining investment in the CBD. We encourage everyone who lives, works or visits the Central City to take pride in their environment and to play their role in maintaining a world-class and beautiful CBD,” concludes Evangelinos.