Cape Town, celebrated for its lively culture and breathtaking scenery, is currently facing significant challenges with its subway systems.
These subways play a crucial role in linking neighbourhoods and promoting pedestrian movement, yet there are issues that affect their safety and overall functionality.
The presence of unsightly graffiti, litter, and general neglect discourages pedestrians from utilising these pathways, which may lead them to cross busy main roads and streets.
The City of Cape Town has 49 subways, which are primarily overseen by the City and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).
Rob Quintas, the City's Mayco member for Urban Mobility, acknowledged the subway issues and mentioned that efforts were under way to reopen some of them, supported by the relevant sub-council.
“Various City departments are responsible for the management of subways, including the Road Infrastructure Management Department, which is currently carrying out repairs and maintenance that include painting, handrail repairs, pothole repairs and pathway repairs in certain subways in Rondebosch,” Quintas said.
Ward 59, located in the southern suburbs and encompassing areas like Rondebosch, Claremont, Kenilworth, Newlands, and Rosebank, contains 21 of the city's subways.
Regrettably, many of these subways are in poor condition, raising public concerns about their usability.
Local ward councillor Mikhail Manuel said that during the Covid-19 pandemic five subways in the ward were taken over by vagrants.
“These were the only subways locked for the two-year period. The City, together with community partners, have been working on making these five subways safe for use again,” he said.
By mid-2023, three of the five subways had been reopened and deemed safe for public use, and just last week a co-ordinated effort was launched to save the last two subways that had been persistently occupied.
Manuel reiterated Quintas's statement that the vandalism and invasions of the subways had created a significant opportunity for both him and the officials to enhance subway management.
“We will soon be able to launch a new management solution to improve our ability to deliver services related to subways,” Manuel said.
Prasa spokesperson Zino Mihi mentioned that Prasa operated 38 subways across the province, with 32 currently in use.
She explained that these subways served as vital connections to the streets on either side of railway stations, making their maintenance crucial.
“The six non-operational subways are due to vandalism experienced. We suspect that vagrants occupying the land around the subways may be the cause of the vandalism,” she said.
Prasa is actively working to restore most of these subways to operational status.
“To prevent any potential illegal occupation, we have decided to close some of these subways at night.
“We will continue to monitor the subways which we own to ensure that they are not illegally occupied,” Mihi said.
“It's important to note that these subways do more than just provide transportation, a key part of the community's infrastructure,” said Dave Sivertsen of the Rosebank and Mowbray Civic Association (RMCA).
“Subways are essential for allowing pedestrians to safely cross busy streets and railway lines, whether for students, schoolchildren, or the elderly, but only if they are safe and clean,” he said.
The RMCA and the Mowbray Community Policing Forum have urged the City to upgrade and maintain the City-owned subways within Ward 57.
Weekend Argus