Our local City Council newspaper tells us that for the duration of 2010 Soccer World Cup some roads leading to the city will be closed. And on match days no public parking will be permissible at and around Cape Town stadium.
That means those who have booked hired cars and staying in the city – might have a problem. They are not alone. Those of us who have been living here all these years – also have a problem.
In the meantime the first of 43 custom built buses for the Integrated Rapid Transport (IRT) system have arrived. Mini bus and regular taxis will be subject to the rules and will have difficulty getting about. The only option is going to be the planned public transport or walking. In the picture is the depot for the IRT bus in Green Point. It’s almost ready. I believe up north in Jozi they have already rolled out their IRT.
All the updates are great!
It wont be that bad. Its just 8 days of the entire year with only certain roads closed. Most matches are at 8:30 pm.
It will just require some arrangements to be made before hand.
Here are the diagrams of the affected roads.
http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/FIFA2010/Pages/Gettingaround.aspx
Thank you Rafa.
Thanks the link to the maps. It might only appear to be the days of the matches, and only the access roads. But the issue for residents is that they cannot park their own cars at their own homes for the match day and the preceding day. What are we supposed to DO with our cars?? And the authorities have already had two practice sessions – sneakily uncovered the no parking signs in the early hours of the morning and then slapped parking tickets on all the cars! Hardly fair!
They have been very slow to implement a practical system for those living in the area.
A simple system would be to provide a cheap sticker or a pass for those. Another idea would then be for those who have parked illegally, i.e. non-residents, to be clamped.
I will be attending the Green Point Community Policing Forum on the 10th May and the Green Point Ratepayers meeting on the 18th May. What I do know is that this is a FIFA requirement and non negotiable on match days. What I don't know is where we are supposed to put our cars. Many residents on High Level Road do not have parking. There is a plethora of hotels and B & B's in the area. That means a lot of people need to find somewhere to park. Let's hope some solutions emerge from these meetings.