Cape Town danger areas

[ChrisF]

3 hours ago, Wannabe said:

I'll be shooting an e-mail off to JP Smith and the PPA EVERYDAY to ask them when they are going to act against this hotspot. 

 

JP Smith has a new position post election.  At least there are new people in the Northern Suburbs doing what he used to do.  Not sure where JP is now ....

[MORNE]

Again guys, come ride all the closed mtb trail networks. We are truly lucky with the amount and variety available. You’ll never get bored.
 

Puffies dont carry knives (outside their mouth at least) and are slow as hell…they cant get you on the opposite side of the road. The cobras are faster, but they tend to ‘run’ in the opposite direction anyway…and you usually hear them. The mole snakes loiter around like vagrant squaters, sometimes IN the trail, which requires some quick thinking, but they are generally way too lazy to even care about what you are doing.
 

But most important, none of them want your bike or your phone!

😊

[ChrisF]

4 hours ago, The Ouzo said:

this thread is enough for me to cancel any plans of coming down there in March.

Frightening 

 

Hey, YOU have a coffee date with the Potch crowd at the Expo in March ....  Then again, those Potch girls might twist your arm for a craft beer ...

@SilverRider @Scary Rider

 

 

Like any city in the world, there are crime hotspots.  The seriously frustrating part about Woodstock is that this is such a crucial link.

 

The Woodstock business district has risen from the ashes and have gone a long way towards uplifting the area.  Maybe that their business forum would be more interested in improving safety .... Surely some of these business people, and certainly many of their staff are potential commuters - IF it is safe. 

 

 

@The Ouzo enough other safe spots to enjoy the Cape.

[ChrisF]

14 minutes ago, MORNE said:

Again guys, come ride all the closed mtb trail networks. We are truly lucky with the amount and variety available. You’ll never get bored.
 

Puffies dont carry knives (outside their mouth at least) and are slow as hell…they cant get you on the opposite side of the road. The cobras are faster, but they tend to ‘run’ in the opposite direction anyway…and you usually hear them. The mole snakes loiter around like vagrant squaters, sometimes IN the trail, which requires some quick thinking, but they are generally way too lazy to even care about what you are doing.
 

But most important, none of them want your bike or your phone!

😊

 

Top tip ..... just watch the Granny Gear kids .... if they complete B Spot, then it is safe .....

[Murrob]

55 minutes ago, MORNE said:

Again guys, come ride all the closed mtb trail networks. We are truly lucky with the amount and variety available. You’ll never get bored.
 

Puffies dont carry knives (outside their mouth at least) and are slow as hell…they cant get you on the opposite side of the road. The cobras are faster, but they tend to ‘run’ in the opposite direction anyway…and you usually hear them. The mole snakes loiter around like vagrant squaters, sometimes IN the trail, which requires some quick thinking, but they are generally way too lazy to even care about what you are doing.
 

But most important, none of them want your bike or your phone!

😊

Yeah, unfortunately the tik koppe seem to take chances on the trails as well. So mtb is not as safe as you might like to think, we had an encounter with 2 panga wielding twatwaffles 7:30 in the morning up Jan Phillips drive in Paarl mountain a couple of weeks ago. Gotta stay frosty wherever you are. But it does feel like Winelands has just exploded the last while with the homeless. I suspect the court order cleaning up the Cape Town cbd has resulted in the problem spreading to all the different areas. 

[Jbr]

1 hour ago, MORNE said:

Again guys, come ride all the closed mtb trail networks. We are truly lucky with the amount and variety available. You’ll never get bored.
 

Puffies dont carry knives (outside their mouth at least) and are slow as hell…they cant get you on the opposite side of the road. The cobras are faster, but they tend to ‘run’ in the opposite direction anyway…and you usually hear them. The mole snakes loiter around like vagrant squaters, sometimes IN the trail, which requires some quick thinking, but they are generally way too lazy to even care about what you are doing.
 

But most important, none of them want your bike or your phone!

😊

if only we could ride there safely.. Wish TBMC had tried to defend access from the N7 through Vissershoek. I know some that still manage to go through there, when I try the guy at the gate doesn't seem too happy to see me, he let me through on the way there but not on the way back the last couple of times... Looking forward to that new access by Zone7.

Everywhere else I ride to seems pretty safe (as long as you leave table mountain behind you) at the moment, I guess the less cyclists the less prone to attacks...

Edited November 12 by Jbr

[MORNE]

40 minutes ago, Murrob said:

Yeah, unfortunately the tik koppe seem to take chances on the trails as well. So mtb is not as safe as you might like to think, we had an encounter with 2 panga wielding twatwaffles 7:30 in the morning up Jan Phillips drive in Paarl mountain a couple of weeks ago. Gotta stay frosty wherever you are. But it does feel like Winelands has just exploded the last while with the homeless. I suspect the court order cleaning up the Cape Town cbd has resulted in the problem spreading to all the different areas. 

‘Closed’ trail networks i said - behind a paywall, inside a fence preferably😅. Not a gravel road easily accessible by anyone off a main road. I know spez paarl trails are pretty meh…but think Jonkershoek, just hikers, baboons, sone snakes and the actual trails out to kill you there😁

[Murrob]

1 hour ago, MORNE said:

‘Closed’ trail networks i said - behind a paywall, inside a fence preferably😅. Not a gravel road easily accessible by anyone off a main road. I know spez paarl trails are pretty meh…but think Jonkershoek, just hikers, baboons, sone snakes and the actual trails out to kill you there😁

On that note, have you checked out Muratie trails? Super nice and they opened up a new section this weekend. Proper nice mix of all things single track and behind that paywall you refer to. But much like Jonkers, get your climbing boots on. 

[MORNE]

14 hours ago, Murrob said:

On that note, have you checked out Muratie trails? Super nice and they opened up a new section this weekend. Proper nice mix of all things single track and behind that paywall you refer to. But much like Jonkers, get your climbing boots on. 

Really enjoyd the riding at muratie when i was there a while ago, they are proper enjoyable even though mostly XC orientated. The climbing wasn't too bad either. You dont realise how fast you gain altitude there. 

[Scary Rider]

18 hours ago, ChrisF said:

 

Hey, YOU have a coffee date with the Potch crowd at the Expo in March ....  Then again, those Potch girls might twist your arm for a craft beer ...

@SilverRider @Scary Rider

 

 

Like any city in the world, there are crime hotspots.  The seriously frustrating part about Woodstock is that this is such a crucial link.

 

The Woodstock business district has risen from the ashes and have gone a long way towards uplifting the area.  Maybe that their business forum would be more interested in improving safety .... Surely some of these business people, and certainly many of their staff are potential commuters - IF it is safe. 

 

 

@The Ouzo enough other safe spots to enjoy the Cape.

@The Ouzo, we DO have a coffee date, remember, né...

TBH, we have hotspots in Potch too, we know a student who donated four bikes in three years on campus from the safety of the hostel's fietsloods. Gesluit en als! 

I personnally take a detour when commuting to work to miss all the skoolmammas in oefenklere with their SUV's.. 😮

[Wannabe]

I sent emails to the Mayor's Office, who acknowledged my mail, Ald Smith (whose office's reply is attached) PPA of whom I've heard nothing in response, and Premier Winde, also no response as yet. Mr Cason suggested we inform/put pressure on Min Barbara Creecy to remedy the situation. So, if all interested/affected parties can join in this campaign, it will be highly appreciated.

Hello *****.

 My name is Louis Cason, I’m a ESO in the office of Ald JP Smith.

 City enforcement is working very closely with Woodstock SAPS to conduct joint operations on the illegal occupants on a frequent basis, we have also started to do joint operations with Home affairs in the area and the City’s legal team is engaging Transnet and PRASA on a frequent basis to push them towards an eviction.

The City has offered them similar assistance to the Castle but we legally cannot evict them on the behalf of National Government. 

They are occupying PRASA (railway land) and Transnet land (next to N1 & Lower Church) because of the close proximity to the harbour and the endless amount of scrap they can strip from the trains, fences and dilapidated buildings in the area. 

The cycling community can really help by using their considerable reach to pressure Minister Barbara Creecy to initiate the eviction, clear their erven and put measures in place to secure them. 

I will escalate the below to both legal and our senior management.

[Wannabe]

Further feedback I got from Mr Cason.

I'm no good at these kind of things, if there is someone with more/better computer skills and knowledge of these things to maybe set this up?

The below is what I could find online:

 TransportMinistry@dot.gov.za

info@dot.gov.za

I was thinking over the weekend that a change.org petition or something similar could work. The penguin activists has a good system as well where people can automatically email the relevant minister that might work. 

https://www.africanpenguinnotonourwatch.org/email-the-minister 

That section is a priority for the Mayor so legal and our officials must give him feedback on a continuous basis of progress so we are trying but unless they evict we will always sit with the problem. 

Thank you

Louis

[Zebra]

Cross-posting this article here, since i think we can attack the ‘problem’ from 2 different angles…

 

Edited November 14 by Zebra
Link inserted…

[Meezo]

As received 

[ZeroPlay]

Spaanschemat River Road, between Steenberg Village shopping centre and the American Embassy. 5:50am this morning.

Two entrepreneurs looking for customers at the infamous Strava segment "The Hijack Danger Zone - Be careful here". One on each side of the road.

The guy on the Westlake side stepped into the bike lane to stop me and said, "sir, sir." I growled f-off and veered right. He didn't follow. The next rider I caught up to said the same thing happened to him. I stopped at the American Embassy and phoned Constantia Watch to come check it out. Next rider to arrive said same thing happened to him too and noted that there were 2 guys, one on each side of the road.

I hope nobody became a victim there today.

[Hairy]

1 hour ago, ZeroPlay said:

Spaanschemat River Road, between Steenberg Village shopping centre and the American Embassy. 5:50am this morning.

Two entrepreneurs looking for customers at the infamous Strava segment "The Hijack Danger Zone - Be careful here". One on each side of the road.

The guy on the Westlake side stepped into the bike lane to stop me and said, "sir, sir." I growled f-off and veered right. He didn't follow. The next rider I caught up to said the same thing happened to him. I stopped at the American Embassy and phoned Constantia Watch to come check it out. Next rider to arrive said same thing happened to him too and noted that there were 2 guys, one on each side of the road.

I hope nobody became a victim there today.

Sad irony of the location noted, there seems to be "free lodge and boarding" available for those persons just down the road.