Stellenbosch Cycling, an advocacy group, has criticised the insignificant budget allocation for Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) in the Stellenbosch Municipality’s Comprehensive Integrated Transport Plan (CITP). The group questioned the municipality’s seriousness about NMT objectives with a proposed budget of only about 4,5% of the total infrastructure budget for NMT in the next ten years and only 1,5% for the cycling section.
Dawid Botha of Stellenbosch Cycling said that despite the importance and benefits of NMT, including cycling, being mentioned over 30 times in the CITP before chapter 9, which focused on NMT, there were only vague and non-specific budget headings for cycling.
“There is therefore no way of sensible public comment on these items neither of evaluating whether the budget has been carried out for specific projects,” he added, saying the CITP also emphasises “striving towards car-free living in Stellenbosch” and “achieving modal shift in the Stellenbosch CBD towards public transport, walkability and cyclability.”
Stellenbosch Cycling expressed concern that the municipality’s proposed Public-Private Partnership (PPP) parking garage behind the Town Hall complex in the CBD would only draw more cars into the CBD and make life more unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists. Botha suggested that the municipality should instead build parking garages on the outskirts of the town to reduce congestion and promote NMT.
Botha further questioned the proposed R31m budget for the pedestrian bridge over the R304 at Khayamandi and called for more extensive public participation and interaction with the dormant Mobility Forum and NMT Working Group.
He also asked for separate items in the budget for pedestrian and cycling capital projects as well as combined NMT projects.
“We urge the local municipality to rethink its budget priorities and speed limits in built-up areas to further NMT, especially cycling,” Botha concluded.
The CITP is a strategic document that outlines Stellenbosch’s future growth, development, and service delivery priorities for the next 10 years.
