Cape Town - As many as eight to 10 tourist buses can be seen making their way through the narrow streets of Bo-Kaap at any point in time, as tourists flock to the picturesque and historical neighbourhood. However, this causes major disruptions to the lives of residents.
On Wednesday, a group of around 40 residents protested in Wale Street, demanding the City put in place a traffic plan for Bo-Kaap – a plan residents have been requesting for a number of years.
Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers Association member of the executive, Mogamat Noor Osman, said the City had not taken note of the residents’ concerns related to the large tour buses, and over the past two or three months, frustrations have been building up, which led to residents taking to the streets in protest.
“What is actually happening is that so many of these big buses are coming in, 40-seater buses, they just drop people and then they go and then obstruct the traffic.
“So the residents don’t have a bit of privacy.
“They are just being bombarded by tourist buses that come in and do their own thing without respect for the community and I think that’s been the frustrations of people.”
He said the action was in no way against tourists in Bo-Kaap, but rather the presence of the large tour buses in the area, causing obstruction and congestion in the narrow roads, which also made it difficult for residents to move into or out of Bo-Kaap.
“Sometimes they come in three or four or five at a time. It’s really chaos.”
Association chairperson, Osman Shabodien, said: “Firstly, it’s not a new concern. It’s an age-old concern of 2017 when we first had the Traffic Plan drawn-up and then upgraded in 2021.”
He said residents felt that buses should not enter into the area due to the structure of the area.
“Bo-Kaap was never made for cars, it was made for horses and carts.
“And just cars alone creates that congestion. Now buses come along and they stand all over the place because there’s no parking for them as well.
“And our challenge is that it creates a bottleneck which creates frustration with the residents.”
He said while the City Council was able to address this, they have failed to do so.
“There were arrangements made to stand on Riebeeck Square and the tourists would walk into Bo-Kaap. It’s a simple plan, it’s not even a complicated thing but once again, we are up against an attitude of the City.”
Ward councillor, Francine Higham, said they are responding to the residents’ concerns.
“I understand the residents frustration. I am often in Wale Street myself and I can see the traffic congestion and the parking frustration that are caused by some of the large 40-seater tour buses that are coming into the area.
“Sometimes it is just one or two but it can be up to eight or 10 at times so I understand and I respect the protest and the residents’ expression of their frustrations.”
She said the City has been working on a Traffic Plan and anticipate a first draft plan to be ready soon.
“I am hoping that we can sit down with the community and the association on the 3rd of December to talk through that.”
shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za