The City’s Urban Mobility Directorate has proposed a budget prioritising road maintenance, public transport, congestion relief and road reconstruction in communities often locked in crime, which has been met with mixed reaction by residents.
Speaking with the Cape Argus on Tuesday, affected residents who live in communities including Mitchell’s Plain, Wynberg, Bellville, Khayelitsha and Macassar, said while they welcomed the proposed allocations to improve mobility infrastructure in those areas, they were concerned about developments that were being neglected, and called for CCTV monitoring of hotspots where the MyCiTi, cycle and foot lanes will be built.
The City’s "Invested in Hope" Budget 2025/26 was tabled at its Council meeting on March 27 and is now available for public comment.
The Urban Mobility Directorate said their proposed operational budget for the next financial year alone, starting on July 1 2025, is over R4.7 billion which includes R1.7 billion for operating the MyCiTi bus service across Cape Town.
Mayco member for Urban Mobility, Rob Quintas, said the focus would be on covering more than 10 000km of road network.
“A key priority is regular and ongoing road maintenance. Cape Town’s road network covers nearly 10 700 km, it is one of our biggest assets, and invaluable in terms of keeping Capetonians moving,” Quintas said.
“Roadworks are inconvenient and frustrating, but the alternative of not investing in our road network is too ghastly to contemplate.
"Other metros in South Africa are a clear example of what happens when you fail to maintain roads, keep traffic signals working, and neglect the upkeep of storm water infrastructure."
The Urban Mobility Directorate’s proposed capital budget over the medium-term, starting on 1 July 2025 until 30 June 2028, which amounts to over R7.9 billion, with some key priorities: R5.4bn for the roll-out of the MyCiTi bus service to connect Mitchell’s Plain and Khayelitsha with Wynberg and Claremont; R88 million for the refurbishment and replacement of the current MyCiTi fleet; R397m for upgrading public transport interchanges in Bellville, Happy Valley, Macassar, Makhaza, Retreat, and Westlake; and R153m for formalising MyCiTi bus stops on existing routes and rebuilding damaged stations.
Another R252 million will be spent on universally accessible footways and cycle lanes in Kuils River, Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain, Hanover Park, Kensington, Fractreton, Maitland, Gugulethu, and Spine Road, amongst others
An additional R199 million has been set aside for road rehabilitation and reconstruction, including the reconstruction of various sections of Jakes Gerwel Drive; the rehabilitation of Jan van Riebeeck Drive between Francie van Zijl Drive to Epping Avenue in Beaconvale/Parow; and La Belle Road between Strand Street and Willow Street in Stikland
An amount of R307 million will be spent on the upgrading and rehabilitation of traffic signals across the city and over R2.1 billion from the directorate’s operational budget in 2025/26 for road infrastructure maintenance
Mitchell’s Plain United Residents Association (MURA) said while they were excited at the prospects of the mobility infrastructure receiving a financial injection, they were concerned about cyclists and runners being attacked and called for additional security measures.
“We as the MURA welcome the investment in road infrastructure in order to deal with congestion on our roads.
“However, the creation of dedicated footpaths and cycle lanes must be accompanied by the installation of CCTV cameras, proper and improved lighting and visible police patrols as most of these routes are unsafe in the Mitchell's Plain area.”
Yunus Karriem, chairperson of the Wynberg East Civic Association, said while they understood the need for the structural projection for transportation, they were concerned that the focus on crime and drugs was not being tackled.
“Based on what is being tabled, there is a huge amount of money being allocated for infrastructure investment, which I understand has to do with the expansion of the MyCiTi and obviously the water and sanitation issues, new water pipelines that need to be replaced,” he said.
“We are employing additional police, but are not addressing what is at the root cause of the issues, unemployment, drugs and literacy.”
Christiaan Stewart, community activist in Macassar said while the budget benefited the community, they were worried that not many persons would be able to utilise the MyCiTi services and called for more infrastructure and development in communities which he deemed as being neglected.
“This budget is not really going to benefit us as a whole as the Helderberg community, as many residents are not travelling to Cape Town on a daily basis,” he said.
“Where will residents in Sir Lowry’s Pass, Lwandle , Macassar, Broadlands, fit in?
“Who will arrange that there will be employment opportunities for residents to travel to the city.
“This area lacks a lot of development and infrastructure in terms of those mobile classrooms to proper roads and storm water."
Submit comments on the budget 2025/26 before May 2.
Email: [email protected]
Verbal comments: phone 0800 212 176
Cape Argus