Do we really want a endless stream of traffic through the centre of the place where we live – smoke in our lungs, grime on our buildings, the constant noise that makes conversation near-impossible and sleep difficult, our children unable to cross the road? Separation from the coast, the devaluation of the residential spaces above shops, retreat of residents to the quieter area on the hill; this how urban spaces decay. The neighborhood is fractured, people shrink back from the pollution and noise, residents on the main road are replaced by borderline businesses, a strip forms, crime follows, residents on the hill seal themselves off with razor wire and avoid the main drag.
Abusive relationships are like this. Cars and trucks passing through a residential area on their way to somewhere else are a form of abuse. Is there an alternative?
Consider this: the residents of the five Cinque Terre villages on the rugged Italian Riviera coast decided they didn’t want cars. They didn’t want the road that the government proposed to build. They liked the way they were living, free of noise and pollution. They prevailed. Now they are second most visited tourist destination in Italy. How do the visitors come? By train. Consider this: In the 1930’s A small group of people opposed plans to subdivide Cape Point and proposed instead a nature reserve. The authorities said no way. A local farmer donated his farm. The Cape Point reserve is now the most visited tourist destination in South Africa. Consider this. A developer wanted to subdivide the Oudekraal mountainside between Camps Bay and Llandadnu and cover it with LA-style condominiums. Twenty thousand people demonstrated against it and this fabulous coast is now preserved as part of our priceless heritage. None of this would have happened if communities had not spoken up. Look, Kalk Bay is great - I love it as is - but it could become fabulous. Picture this. It’s a fan walk from Rosmead Road all the way to the Kalk Bay harbor. Visitors spilling out from the train station directly onto Main Road, a flea market next to the station, open air restaurants, kids rollerblading in the street, children in the tidal pools next to the Brass Bell, spoken word poetry put on by the Kalk Bay Bookstore from a demountable podium, a few dronkies suiping on a bench, and a new phenomenon - the sound of people speaking to each other.
Hell, if Cape Town can do it for Fifa, why not do it in Kalk Bay for ourselves?
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