KAREN WATKINS
Open Streets will take place in Mitchell’s Plain on Sunday April 3, between noon and 5pm, transforming Merrydale Avenue into a car-free paradise.
On Sunday March 13 a group of nine cyclists from all over the peninsula joined Open Streets Mitchells Plain organisers to reconnoitre a route for a Bike Bus ride from Palmyra Junction in Claremont through suburbia and the farming area of Philippi to Mitchell’s Plain.
People coming to Palmyra Junction from the city or suburbs are en- couraged to park and use trains or cycle from the city or deep south. The route from Claremont to Mitchell’s Plain is 21km, and route details will follow soon.
From the deep south, the ride from Muizenberg to Mitchell’s Plain is 18km. The ride starts at Knead Bakery in Muizenberg.
Managing director and co-founder of Open Streets, Marcela Guerrero Casas, says it’s the fifth sub-council in Cape Town to host an Open Streets Day. “And we’re in great anticipation of testing the concept and showing the rest of the city… that indeed, our streets can be more than they are.”
Ms Guerrero Casas added that over 300 000 Capetonians live in Mitchell’s Plain.
“Also, it’s not all violence, drugs, gangs and gloom that is reported in the news. We’re learning that there’s a whole lot more going on and so much to be discovered by visiting this part of our city,” she said.
* For route details you can visit www.strava.com/routes/4170471