Month: October 2015

You are invited to the ‘Tour de Diepsloot’

JUCA warmly invites all to join a bicycle tour of Diepsloot, to raise awareness of cycling as a mode of transport and community development. The ride dubbed the Tour de Diepsloot will take place from 9am on Sunday the 8th of November 2015.

Diepsloot has one of the highest concentration of commuter cyclists in Johannesburg. Yet till recently the presence of this flow of commuter cyclists has remained ‘unseen’ on the roads and in non-motorised policy initiatives. In this regard, we are delighted that Gauteng MEC for Transport, Ismail Vadi, will be joining the ride as he did recently.

Diepsloot also has an emerging network of community assets such as parks, recycling centres and now an Arts Precinct. On the day of the ride, the Arts Precinct will be officially opening. Come view the wonderful works on display. Refreshments will also be available.

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The tour will start at Diesploot Mall by William Nicol Drive at 9am. The route is an easy 6.6 kilometres with the slowest riders setting the pace. It will end back at the Mall.

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If you are travelling from far with bicycle(s) in car, safe parking is available at the Diesploot Mall. We look forward to seeing you there.

 

 

 

MEC, Ismail Vadi, Rides in Solidarity with Diepsloot Bike-Train

On Monday morning, the 12th of October, Gauteng, MEC for Transport, Ismail Vadi joined a Bike-Train travelling from Diepsloot southwards.

The MEC had accepted an invitation extended by JUCA to support the hundreds of everyday cyclists who live in and around Diepsloot with William Nicol Drive as their main travel corridor.

Without a doubt across Johannesburg, there is no other corridor as William Nicol Drive that features as many people using bicycles as a main form of transport. However this road is very unfriendly to cyclists and pedestrians. As we witnessed, motorists behave as though people walking or cycling do not exist edging them off the road and pavements. Accidents are not uncommon.

 

The purpose of the bike-train was to increase the visibility of the many cyclists to motorists and motivate for increased policy attention. In this regard, JUCA and MEC agreed that following the ride;

  1. The office of the MEC will organise a count of pedestrians and cyclists using the William Nicol Drive corridor
  2. Review existing and proposed bicycle lane designs to ensure they offer full protection to cyclists and pedestrians
  3. Organise a social bike ride within Diesploot that will raise awareness about the role of the bicycle in everyday transport and community development

Gauteng Transport MEC Ismail Vadi to ride in Solidarity with Diepsloot’s Ecomobility Champions

Early on Monday morning the 12th of October, Gauteng Transport MEC, Ismail Vadi will join a bike train of cyclists leaving from their homes in Diepsloot to various places of work across Johannesburg.

In support of the EcoMobility World Festival, JUCA and the City of Johannesburg have been organising bike trains to ferry people together to and from various destinations. Bike-trains are convoys of people riding their bicycles together to and from whatever destinations they choose.

Each day, hundreds of Ecomobility Champions who live in and around Diepsloot ‘arrange’ their own bike-trains. However they do so within a hostile road environment. There have over time been reports of accidents some of them very serious. Motorists travelling on one of the routes preferred by the Ecomobility Champions because it offers direct connections from home to work and back – William Nicol Drive – travel at high speeds and often edge them off the road.

 

 

In this light, JUCA is calling for practical steps to improve the travel experience of Diepsloots’ Ecomobility Champions. These include:

  • Traffic calming
    • We would like to see law enforcement to ensure motorists observe speed limits and a minimum passing distance of 1.5 metres from cyclists
  • Development of protected bicycle lanes
    • We would like best in class in protected bicycle lanes developed along the routes that the Ecomobility Champions use.

Cyclists will converge at Diepsloot Mall to commence the ride. The MEC will join the cyclists at the corner of Erling Road and William Nicol Drive and ride with them for part of their journey onwards to the Indaba Hotel. At the Hotel, the MEC will briefly interact with the cyclists and engage media. Click here for the ride map.

We will post an update following the solidarity ride.