EcoMobility Festival was enriching, says Mayor Tau

30 October 2015

 

The EcoMobility World Festival, which comes to an end tomorrow, had been an enriching experience, Johannesburg Executive Mayor Councillor Parks Tau said today (Friday October 30).

 

Speaking during an international media conference in Sandton, Mayor Tau said the festival had also given the City of Johannesburg another opportunity to look at the services and programmes it provided “from the perspective of local commuters”.

 

A street party to officially bring the curtain down on the month-long event takes place at Sandton’s West Street tomorrow. Black Coffee and Mafikozolo will headline the Eco-Block Party entertainment. Revellers will also be able to watch the Soweto derby – between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates – and the Rugby World Cup final between champions New Zealand and Australia on big, high-definition TV screens.

 

The City launched the global festival on Monday October 4 in the Sandton CBD in a bid to start changing the way Johannesburg residents moved. Several streets were closed off to private vehicles in favour of public transport use, cycling and walking.

Mayor Tau said the festival initially created a sense of anxiety among some Joburgers.

 

“But the anxiety almost immediately after the launch turned into buy-in as the number of people who heeded the call to change the way they moved increased daily,” Tau said.

 

More than 150 000 people attended at least 10 different EcoMobility events, including the Freedom Ride, which attracted more than 4 000 cyclists. The number of commuters on the Gautrain increased by 8% and five times more people walked along West Street during the festival, according to a study by the Gauteng City Region Observatory on the impact of the festival.

But it was not all plain sailing for the City. There was a level of dissatisfaction with travelling within Sandton and the unfortunate collapse of the pedestrian bridge over the M1 highway was a big blot on festival’s copybook.

“In other cases, there are still lingering concerns about safety and the availability of an integrated public transport network,” Mayor Tau said.

 

South African National Taxi Council’s Ralph Jones thanked the City for enabling the taxi industry to become an integral part of the festival. He said, however, that a low point was the “lax law enforcement around the Sandton CBD”.

 

“It was a serious learning curve for the taxi industry, which in the past was not perceived as a key part of public transport. I’m encouraged by the partnership we struck with the city,” Jones said.

 

The City will redouble its efforts to establish dedicated cycle lanes on various routes across Johannesburg and improve safety through the installation of CCTV cameras and deployment of marshals and law enforcers to protect cyclists.

 

“I want to use this opportunity to again thank the residents of Sandton and those who keep the wheels of commerce and industry turning. Thank you for your understanding, your patience and willingness to consider alternatives to the way in which you move,” Mayor Tau said.