Joint media release: Premier Winde and MEC Mitchell cycle to promote safer mobility
Premier Alan Winde, the MEC of Mobility Daylin Mitchell, and the MEC of Police Oversight and Community Safety Reagen Allen, today joined the Pedal Power Association on a 10km cycling trip to promote cycling in Cape Town.
The event forms part of October Transport Month activities promoting mobility and safety initiatives across the province. Cycling provides an opportunity to improve sustainable mobility in terms of social and environmental impacts. It also increases access to opportunities for those to whom public transport is unaffordable. The Western Cape Government is committed to creating an enabling environment for our top priorities which support job creation, safety and well-being. Improved mobility is key in this regard.
While cycling remains one the most used modes of mobility, more needs to be done to ensure citizens commute safely in our communities. The government has through the Provincial Sustainable Transport Programme (PSTP), initiated by the Department of Transport and Public Works, distributed over 2000 bicycles to various functioning mobility programmes, including neighbourhood watches since its inception in 2019.
The programme supports the development and implementation of sustainable transport systems in the Western Cape and will continue to develop transport systems through forming partnerships with key stakeholders, including local municipalities, communities and businesses. It also supported mobility programmes for learner transport, micro-enterprise support, food distribution, and even the delivery of medicines during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The programme also recognises that non-motorised transport is the most accessible mobility option to access basic services and opportunities, especially for our rural communities and aims to develop sustainable transport systems through forming partnerships with key stakeholders, including local municipalities, communities and businesses.
It is no secret Premier Alan Winde is a cycling enthusiast and fully supports this of mode of transport, not only for recreational purposes, but also as a means of addressing traffic congestion, pollution and – more importantly – offering people access to economic opportunities.
Premier Alan Winde said: “We need to further inculcate a culture of cycling in our province, to highlight how bicycles can be better used by people to get to their destinations, whether it is school or their place of employment. Given the alarming lack of reliable and safe public transport, an issue the Western Cape government is trying to address through the establishment of the Mobility Ministry, the humble bicycle also offers those who used to rely on trains, for example, an alternative to move around.”
MEC of Mobility Daylin Mitchell said: “Since my appointment as the Western Cape MEC of Mobility, I have committed to working together with infrastructure partners in driving investment in walking and cycling infrastructure to improve the viability, dignity and safety of these vital transport modes. This includes the development of sidewalks and safe crossings, as well as the reallocation of scarce road space towards these most sustainable modes of transport. I have had the privilege of being part of the bicycle distribution programmes that benefit communities across the province. I will also engage other spheres of government as we need to pay special attention when we design our communities and promote non-motorised transport. I am pleased about the focus that the Western Cape Government has chosen to place on improving mobility in our province, to enable people and goods to move between places – safer, cheaper and faster than anywhere else in our country – pushing our priorities of jobs, safety and well-being.”
Source: Government of South Africa