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V&A Waterfront Cape Town not bike friendly
After providing formal as well as informal motorcycle parking in the past things have come to a hard to understand and unpleasant change at Cape Town's Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, one of South Africas most visited tourist attractions:
Recently all formal bike parking was either swallowed by a construction site or simply removed. At the same time security staff adapted a zero tolerance approach to informally (but of course not obstructing) parked bikes. Areas previously and for many years used as motorcycle parking were fitted with huge "no parking" pavement arts and surrounded by a small forest of "no motorcycles" signs Written protest aired by local motorcyclists was answered with a standardised blah blah we are so sorry letter. If you go to the Waterfront with your bike better look for a car park for your scoot. Expect to have car drivers shaking their heads at you for blocking already scarce parking bays. (or worse) Expect to have cars "sharing" the parking bay you occupied with your bike. If you come back and your bike got knocked over it was probably not parked properly. Do not park in any of those nice places ideally suited to accomodate your bike where you would park everywhere else in the world. An ugly wheel clamp will materialize quicky and only disappear after the purchase of your private share of the V&A Waterfront at a hefty price. As long as the V&A Waterfront management upkeeps this approach to the two wheeled solution of urban traffic and parking problems I recommend to simply go somewhere else. |
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As you say Lecap, if you can take your custom elsewhere along with the people who like to look at bikes even though they don't ride them; it may be the best strategy. You could also try mass ride-bys of the area (don't bother stopping but just ride around in circles looking for a parking area) and anything else that can get you good publicity! |
We had one breakfast run already with 80 bikes on a cold and rainy Sunday morning.
Acknowledged and praised in the media, ignored by the Waterfront Management. We will have another one on the 12th of August with pretty much all local motorized two wheel groups and clubs made aware. Looking to block 300 to 400 bays :) |
Way to go! You must value the place as one worth going to.
Good luck - keep the public on side. |
The V&A is a shopping Mall aimed at the tourist and locals with to much $100 dollar bills change in their pockets. Bikers are not tourists spending dollars. Bikers are not even locals who get to take home a boot load of racked up price baubles. As you said, there is not enough parking for the cars. Welcome to the free economies. You should see Birmingham and London. Buy your car tax and it is as good as a pay and display parking ticket for the motorways. Stop carping and start spending, maybe then the management will review their policies.
If you are wondering why I'm carping, I used to ride the waterfront before they put the edifice up, used to be magic in the evening, and I wish they would tear the bloomin thing down. |
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They were aware enough of the first breakfast run to send out the cops. If they have two brain cells to rub together they should realize that a bike nowadays is rather an icon of wealth than one of poverty. The disappearance of the bikes, blinged local Harleys as much as the trans Africa DS bike, roadbike and scooter will turn the Waterfront even more into what you despise. |
Fair enough comment. As I said, I'm predjudiced. Did you ever have the chance to ride around the docklands before the V&A ever went up? It was an education into a different world compared to the glitz and hastily tidied up edifice you see now. The docklands when the sea mists used to roll in was almost ethereal. Now, it's like going on a picnic into the wilderness and having a neighbour with a boombox pumping out the latest Rap come and plonk himself 10 yards away.
There's still Kabonkelberg? Can one still get up to the old radar station? |
They haven't sold Kabonkelberg to the Japanese (not yet :)
I did not know that there was a radar station on Kabonkelberg. Was it the same vintage centrimetric coastal radar as it was installed near the old Cape Point lighthouse and at Camp Cobra above the Slangkop lighthouse in the early 1940's? Must go and find out as I am a big fan of the old coastal defence installations including the boom defence vessel S.A.S. Fleur (ex. H.M.S. Barbrake) and coastal defence vessel S.A.S. Gelderland (we found her). Unfortunately the old installations and coastal batteries are not regarded to as worthy to conserve and fall into decay :( Kabonkelberg is part of the TMNP means off limits to vehicles but no limitations to hikers access afaik. Unfortunately I was too late to experience the old harbour prior to the Waterfront development going up but I can imagine what you mean having witnessed the ways of Panama Jack's from sailors restaurant and insider tip to tourist trap with tour buses parked outside. |
Thats the one :-) Follow the road up the fishermans village to the saddle with the sentinel. In this photo,
http://community.iexplore.com/photos...os/HoutBay.jpg the station is on K'berg on the middle peak. Used to ride up there for Sundowners with the girlfriend on an XT550 back in 89. Also used to cut up Leeukoppies fire road and down to Sandy Bay on the other side. The fire roard was great for a whale watching platform http://www.turtlesa.com/images/Photo...andy%20bay.jpg |
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