Cape Town’s New CBD Mobility Plan, Explained
Cars aren’t banned — they’re just not the priority anymore. And that’s good for business, not bad
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Let’s cut through the noise.
The City of Cape Town has just released a new Mobility and Access Plan for the CBD. It’s part of a broader spatial vision to make the inner city work better — not just for traffic, but for people — something we actively workshopped and campaigned for through our People’s City Bowl Programme not so long ago. The idea? Make the streets safer, fairer, and more useful. If you’ve ever stood in Adderley Street and watched how unequally the space is divided — with just a narrow strip for the rest of us while a MyCiTi or Golden Arrow bus packed with passengers sits stuck behind private cars — you’ll understand exactly why this plan is needed.
Here’s what it actually means and why you should care.
First off, no, cars aren’t being banned.
Let’s get this out the way. Despite a minority cohort of of negative comments, private cars are not being chased out of the CBD. What’s happening is more subtle — and smarter. The City is shifting how different streets are designed and what role they play. Some roads will become calmer and safer. Others will stay as high-volume car corridors.
This is about transport justice: giving fair space to people who walk, cycle, or use public transport — which, let’s be honest, is the majority in Cape Town.
Secondly, to whose who say but what about public transportation?
Let’s be clear: public transport in Cape Town’s CBD isn’t a dream — it already exists, and most people are already using it. Golden Arrow buses, minibus taxis, e-hailing, and even commuter rail have returned to service, now supported by timetable integration on Google Maps thanks to work by PRASA and community partners like Young Urbanists.
And yes — MyCiTi only covers certain areas of Cape Town, but people in those areas currently have access to a world-class bus service. With construction of Phase 2A now underway, the southern parts of Cape Town will soon have access to the BRT system. Small but significant reforms are also on the way, such as easier top-ups on buses through agnostic payment systems.
So this plan isn’t about replacing anything — it’s about giving public transport and walking the space they already earn every day.
The reality? Most cars in the CBD carry one person or less on average. But public transport, on the other hand, moves the majority — and more efficiently. When we prioritise these modes, we’re cutting costs for workers, boosting access to opportunity, and backing the real economic engine of the city: small businesses and everyday people getting where they need to go.
So what’s changing?
The City is introducing a new street hierarchy for the CBD — a set of “street types” with different rules, uses, and priorities. Here’s the breakdown:
1. Mobility Routes (Keep cars moving around the CBD)
Examples: Strand Street, Buitengracht Street, parts of Nelson Mandela Blvd
These are the big roads designed to move traffic through or around the CBD. You won’t find cycle lanes or on-street parking here — they’re for moving vehicles quickly. But: safer crossings with upgraded and protected signalisation and better lighting are coming to protect pedestrians who still have to cross them like on Strand St which was poignantly highlighted through our Zero Wait Campaign video.
2. Transit Streets (Public transport, walking and cycling get first dibs)
Examples: Adderley Street, Darling Street
These are the heavy-duty corridors for buses, taxis, pedestrians, and cyclists. The plan is to limit private cars here and make space for proper waiting areas, tree planting, delivery zones, and raised crossings. Think “CBD backbone” — not for driving through, but for getting around once you’re already there.
3. Activity Streets (Mix of everything, at slower speeds)
Examples: Bree Street, Long Street, Roeland Street
These streets are about daily life: shops, deliveries, events, and hustle. Cars can still use them, but at 30km/h with design that favours people. The idea is to create more spillover space for eating, walking, trading, and informal activity. Think shade, benches, and safer pedestrian crossings. It’s how you live in a city, not just drive through it.
4. Shared Streets (Everyone’s invited, but walk first)
Examples: Bloem Street, Longmarket Street, parts of Harrington Street
These are narrow lanes where there’s no pavement and no kerb. Pedestrians rule. Cars can enter, but they’re “guests” and must yield. Speed? About walking pace. These work best in areas with a lot of foot traffic and limited parking needs.
5. Walking Streets (No cars. Period.)
Examples: St George’s Mall, Waterkant Street, part of Old Marine Drive
These are full pedestrian zones — transit-only malls or quiet promenades. They support city life without the roar of engines. Expect seating, trees, traders, and more space to just be.
What else is in the plan?
1. Pedestrian crossings
More are coming. The plan prioritises raised crossings, safer intersections, and clear routes between stations, offices, and attractions. Good news if you’re tired of sprinting across big, wide streets.
2. Traffic calming
The City’s planning speed control zones, tighter corners, and design tweaks to slow cars without adding more signs or speed bumps. It’s called friction — and it works better than angry signage.
3. Street experiments
They’re opening the door for temporary interventions — like pop-up cycling lanes, paint trials, and small test areas to see what works before spending millions. We started with the weekly Sunday Street Experiment, which brought more people onto the street — families, children, and community members reclaiming space to walk, play, and connect. Early findings suggest that small business sales increased during these closures.
More on street experiments coming soon — in a much bigger and more permanent way.
4. Park-and-ride
This is key. The plan supports shifting drivers to edge-of-city parking, with links to taxis, buses or shuttles. There’s no detailed map yet, but we’ll be asking the City to publish one, along with pricing and shuttle schedules.
So what now?
This is not about war on cars. It’s about making space work better — for the traders on the Grand Parade, the kid walking to school, the majority of workers using public transportation or the person who doesn’t own a car and shouldn’t need one to access the city.
Young Urbanists and the Active Mobility Forum encourages everyone to make a comment before the comment deadline on the 11 of May. We are also hosting our monthly Cape Town Chapter meeting week Wednesday at Church House near Company Gardens in the CBD if you want to find out more about this plan or our organisation at large.
We also encourage you to comment below any ideas you think we need to consider in our submission. And as always we have put a simple template together to help get you started.
Yours in safer streets,
Roland Postma and Team
Young Urbanists and friends are fuelled by passion; every bit counts, whether through new individual memberships (that will always be free), organisational membership, Patreon membership (for those individuals with extra Rands, Euro’s that want to support a specific urban theme), project adoptions or any plain simple donations (email us). Please consider contributing to:
Thank you so much. Yours in greener, saver and people-first streets,
Roland Postma, and Friends
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