Transport Month 2025: Cape Town promotes road safety amid rising traffic deaths
The City of Cape Town launches Transport Month, with Councillor Rob Quintas urging residents to prioritise road safety.
Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
The City of Cape Town will mark the start of Transport Month on 1 October, focusing this year on road safety, an issue the municipality describes as “of utmost importance.”
The Urban Mobility Directorate will engage residents across multiple platforms to raise awareness about sharing the road responsibly and promoting safe practices among pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, and other road users.
“Two people die on our roads in the Western Cape every day. This figure is alarming and very close to home. The safety of road users has decreased significantly over the last few years. Transport Month provides us with the opportunity to educate and inform road users on how to stay safe, especially over the next few months as we enter the more festive period of the year,” said Councillor Rob Quintas, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility.
“Many of us have developed bad habits, or are simply not present or aware while we are walking or driving, and the intention is to refocus attention on safety, and to promote key road safety practices among pedestrians, scholars, passengers, cyclists, motorcyclists, and motorists. We will be highlighting how to share the road responsibly in keeping Cape Town moving, safely.”
The Urban Mobility team has planned a series of awareness events around the city, including:
- Scholars’ Road Safety Event: Targeting primary school learners at the Learner Traffic Centre in Mitchells Plain, in collaboration with the Safety and Security Directorate and the Pedal Power Association (PPA). Road Safety officers will demonstrate walking and cycling safety tips
- Cycling Safety Event: Taking place in Khayelitsha with partners Khaltsha Cycles, Bicycle Empowerment Network (BEN), and PPA. The focus will be on correct hand signalling and safe riding practices.
- Bree Street Activation: Designed for pedestrians and cyclists, featuring an obstacle course in collaboration with Young Urbanists and BEN Bikes to demonstrate safety techniques.
- Motorists’ Focus Event: Concluding Transport Month on 31 October in the CBD, this event will promote courteous driving and remind road users not to block intersections.
Additionally, the City will support the Open Langa event on Sunday, October 26, a one-day Open Streets Day where King Langa, Libalele, and Lerotholi Avenue will be temporarily closed to vehicles.
The streets will be transformed into a festive, car-free space filled with art, music, activities, and local enterprises, with a strong focus on pedestrians.
The City has promised to share further details of the planned Transport Month events in the coming days.
IOL News