Have you noticed an increase in traffic in Cape Town? Here’s why!
If you travel to Cape Town from the suburbs every day for work, you must have noticed that traffic is not only getting worse, but the highways and the city streets just can’t handle the amount of people traveling by car anymore. Well, that is because a staggering 150 000+ people are travelling to Cape Town in traffic for work everyday (that is excluding people that travel for other reasons). How crazy is that number?
Not only is it a frustration for travelers to get onto the N1/N2 and then crawl onwards with the slow traffic, but once you get to town it doesn’t get any better. Die Burger reported that it has been estimated that traffic in Cape Town moves at an average speed of only 18,5 km/h during peak traffic hours.
Of the 150 000+ people that travel to Cape Town for work or studies on a daily basis, a huge 20% of those people reside in the areas of Khayelitsha and Mitchell’s Plein.
Cape Town Government is aware of the traffic problem and the issues it brings forth, and the traffic department is busy with a project that will ultimately regulate traffic lights in and around Cape Town on a better level. The department is also busy with a project to increase the safety of pedestrians during traffic times.
Even though many people are opposed to the E-toll system, Sanral spokesperson, Vusi Mona, stated that the N1 and N2 tollgate projects will insure that traffic moves at a faster pace as this will solve the problem of traffic jams.
Many people blame the heavy Cape Town traffic on Cape Town’s failed railway system which in turn causes goods to be transported by trucks on the road during peak traffic hours. The passenger railway system is also often used as a last resort for travellers as it has been dubbed unsafe and unreliable (aka Metrofail). The only reliable public transport system that some Capetonians bargain on is the MyCiti bus system, however it can only transport so many people and it is also not viable for people that live in some areas where the MyCiti bus is not accessible.
What is your take on Cape Town traffic? Do you think implementing tollgates will improve it? Do you have any solution in mind? Tell us what you think.