The City of Cape Town’s Transport Directorate is urging all motorists to obey the parking bay time restrictions in the CBD and to refrain from illegal parking. Failure to comply could result in a R300 fine.
The drop in business activity during lockdown resulted in fewer commuters travelling to the CBD and more people started parking their cars closer to their workplaces.
However, since the commencement of lockdown Alert Level 1, traffic in the CBD has increased.
“As business within the CBD returns to normal and the traffic in the inner-city increases, we are appealing to all residents and visitors to abide by the parking rules and to not use the parking bays for longer than the allocated time, be it a 30 minute or 60 minute on-street parking bay,” said Felicity Purchase, Mayco member for transport.
Purchase stressed that commuters can no longer be allowed to monopolise parking bays for the entire day because it is having a detrimental impact on the businesses in the CBD, as their customers cannot find parking in the area.
“Our local business owners are recovering from the impact of COVID-19 and they are also key job creators. The private sector is pivotal to the recovery of our local economy and employment,” said Purchase.
As of Monday, October 12 the city will deploy parking wardens to monitor parking bays throughout the CBD during core business hours. This is to ensure the turnover of essential on-street parking bays, by making sure that no vehicle exceeds the allotted time indicated on the parking signage or uses parking bays illegally.
Road users who overstay the time limit and park in exclusive-use bays – for example, drop-and-go bays; loading bays or special needs bays without a permit – will be issued with a fine of R300.
Purchase encourages commuters who require all-day parking to make use of the parking bays on the periphery of the CBD or to rent private parking in the city.
“The The MyCiTi buses also offer a reliable, safe and scheduled service to get around the CBD and to and from these parking areas,” she added.
To ease the financial burden of COVID-19 pandemic, the City has opted against charging commuters for paid parking.
The implementation of paid parking has been delayed until further notice but the City aims to have a new parking management contract in place by February 2021.
“Our local economy needs all the support it can get and all of us can play our part by abiding to the parking laws,” said Purchase.
Picture: Wikimedia Commons