Cape Town danger areas

[Hairy]

Thanks for the link Hairy.  Just to let you and other commuters know, i have come up with a part safe solution, and it goes like  this ...

 

I feel very vulnerable between the Paarden Island bridge, and Woodstock bridge.  Simply avoid this section by catching the My City bus, with your bicycle.  

 

And ride along Marine Drive Service Road on the section between Paarden Island bridge and Car Boot Sale site.  

 

Some time ago the PPA advocated changing the cycle lane to run through the harbour instead.  This is not going to happen any time soon...

 

Another solution could be  by forming an informal work party and upgrading the rough, existing  foot path/single track that runs alongside the N1 from town, and alongside the R27 up to the Paarden Island entrance to the harbour. 

 

Upgrading could include compacting parts to make it less bumpy, and putting in a parallel  foot path/single track  to accommodate cycle traffic in both directions. 

Murray, what are your times down this section. We have a large commuter group that leaves town at 4:35pm and 5:15pm daily, no matter the weather. We also leave Table View at the VET opposite Bayside at 6:45am. All are welcome to join.

 

The PPA have been pushing very hard on the Harbour access. I have spoken to them directly RE this and it took months for them to just agree to meet with the PPA ... it will be a long slow fight for approved access via this route.

 

The upgrade to the verge would involve national roads and they would not take kindly to any works done on "their property". This would also still really only be viable for MTB's and gravel bikes ... roadie bikes would not fair well on this section.

 

The Argus CT Cycle Tour is coming up soon, so we will be hearing lot's of empty promises soon I am sure.

[Hairy]

Like these suggestions

 

Do you try time the ride to get to the bus stop at the right time as to not wait longer than the cycle would take? 

you can time away, but you have to hope and pray you can fit your bike onto the bus during peak hours or else you have to wait for a bus that is not full....speaking from experience when having a mechanical I could not fix and had to take the bike/bus option.

 

 

[murraythomas]

Hi Odon

 

My City bus leaves Civic Centre every 20min, starting on the hour. You gotta look at the published time table so see ETA at the station of your choice.    Just a bit of maths to work out your cycling timing so that your wait time is minimized. 

 

Last night i got it almost right, and ending up waiting only 8 minutes for the bus, which is not the end of the world.

 

Hi Hairy.  Thank you for your offer to join your work commute group.  For practical reasons, and in order to get to work in time, i gotta leave home in Milnerton at 6h30am sharp.  And on my home commute, i enter Mi City cycle lane at about 17h45.  Too late for you guys ...

 

As far as doing renovation on the existing foot path alongside the N1/R27, i was thinking more of the " rather beg for forgiveness than ask for permission" route.  Just go there with some spades and stompers and renovate.   

 

of course the huge irony would be to employ the homeless (living on the other side of the N1) to do the grunt work. Wouldn't that be funny.

 

A quick way of making a parallel footpath next to the existing one, is to ask a mate with an enduro motorbike to ride alongside with front brake on.  The spinning rear wheel knobbly will dig out another path in no time at all.  

 

And yes, whatever was done in the way of informal refurbishment would still only render the path ok for MTB and/or gravel bikes.

[MarcW]

Passed what looked like a murdered individual on the Church Street bridge in Woodstock this morning. Cops had just arrived when I rode past. Not the best start to the morning. 

[MORNE]

Passed what looked like a murdered individual on the Church Street bridge in Woodstock this morning. Cops had just arrived when I rode past. Not the best start to the morning. 

how can you be sure though...it is woodstock after all and some of the local bums have me double taking most days. sometimes they quite literally look dead....you only realise they weren't because you spot them a few days later in a new spot.

 

that being said. i wouldn't doubt anything in that spot. lots of hookers,their customers and skollies cruising though the fence there...

Edited February 12, 2020 by morneS555

[Hairy]

Passed what looked like a murdered individual on the Church Street bridge in Woodstock this morning. Cops had just arrived when I rode past. Not the best start to the morning. 

see 2 x situations like that before on the cycle lane along the railway line and just after the N1 bridge

[Hairy]

how can you be sure though...it is woodstock after all and some of the local bums have me double taking most days. sometimes they quite literally look dead....you only realise they weren't because you spot them a few days later in a new spot.

 

that being said. i wouldn't doubt anything in that spot. lots of hookers,their customers and skollies cruising though the fence there...

hookers, seriously I never noticed before!

drugs and skollies I have noticed.

[Bonus]

In Jo'burg I used to see the blanket covered body of "a pedestrian who failed trying to cross the freeway" once a week. 

[MarcW]

how can you be sure though...it is woodstock after all and some of the local bums have me double taking most days. sometimes they quite literally look dead....you only realise they weren't because you spot them a few days later in a new spot.

 

that being said. i wouldn't doubt anything in that spot. lots of hookers,their customers and skollies cruising though the fence there...

 

Woodstock is the wild west. The person had very heavy - what looked to be stab wounds - to the chest and lots of blood around them. Rode past the spot on my way home and there was police tape around the area. 

[MORNE]

Woodstock is the wild west. The person had very heavy - what looked to be stab wounds - to the chest and lots of blood around them. Rode past the spot on my way home and there was police tape around the area. 

sounds pretty bad then

 

.....and then theres regular movie shoots that happen in the area. Sometimes you really aren't sure whether or not 'this is the real life or if it's just fantasy...'

 

They usually leave notices in your mailbox a month or so in advance informing you of the antics they will be getting up to. i obviously didn't get mine that time and almost called the cops on what seemed like a civil unrest/riot playing out lol

And then other days you think...oh they probably shooting a movie again...just to hear later on the news they assassinated a high profile gangster in front of his house.

 

 

wild west for sure lol 

[Hairy]

I understand this person was shot by SAPS on the bridge

[Hairy]

.

[ivan888]

Does anyone have any confirmed details about a cyclist attacked by three Pieces of **** on the bike paths near Melkbos this morning? There is a post circulating on Facebook from ‘Stay Wider of the Rider’. It the details are vague

[Bernard Horn]

FB said somewhere between Melkbos and Edgemead.Bike was thrown into a taxi.Also looking for more info

[Wannabe]

JAIL SENTENCE AS MERRICK WITHDRAWS APPEAL

 

We just heard that Geoffrey Merrick who was found guilty of culpable homicide after the death of Dr. Koos Roux has withdrawn his appeal case and will serve his three-year sentence in prison.

 

Merrick crashed into Dr. Koos Roux who at the time was cycling with his son on Bottelary Road, well within the road shoulder. Merrick then fled the scene. The police arrested Merrick ten days later when debris found on the scene matched that of his car. According to the authorities, Merrick withdrew his appeal which means he now needs to serve out his three-year sentence.

 

Merrick was found guilty of culpable homicide as well as three Road Act infringements. Sections 61 (1) (a),(b) and © of the National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996, which states the following:

 

Section 61 (1) (a), “that the driver, must immediately stop the vehicle and report the accident;

 

Section 61 (1) (b) – ascertain the nature and extent of any injury sustained by any person; and

 

Section 61 (1) (c ) – if a person is injured, render such assistance to the injured person as he or she may be capable of rendering”.

 

This is the first time that a prison sentence has been handed down in a fatal hit-and-run incident involving a cyclist in South Africa.

 

According to magistrate Abdul Kader Jamalie, Merrick deprived the deceased of his right to live and the Roux family of a husband and a father. The magistrate added that Merrick was grossly negligent as he left the victim and his shocked son next to the road to fend for themselves. Mr. Roux might have survived the crash if Mr. Merrick had remained at the scene to assist.

[Mintman]

Three years. My God. Life is cheap.