Cape Town - Changes to the City of Cape Town’s plan for informal trading in the city centre include relocating some of the Adderley Street traders to other sites and the provision of 169 extra informal trading opportunities.
The plan, mooted by Subcouncil 16 after an extensive consultation process with affected traders and other parties last year, allows for 599 dedicated informal trading areas in Ward 77.
In the report considered at yesterday’s Subcouncil 16 meeting, Janice Adams of the city’s tourism, events and economic development directorate, said the amended trading plan would create an important balance between formal commercial enterprise and informal economic opportunities.
“There is a need to demarcate specific locations for informal trading by considering the local conditions and circumstances, while at the same time prohibiting informal trading in certain locations due to the practical on-the-ground circumstances.”
Adams said that although private sector investment in the CBD has increased in the past 15 years, the management of public space has “lagged behind”. She said the city was particularly concerned about the management of Greenmarket Square, St George’s Mall and the Grand Parade.
There are 200 trading bays on Greenmarket Square and 110 in St George’s Mall, which bring in an estimated monthly tariff revenue of R112 200. The other 289 sites across the city, with a monthly tariff of R150, bring in R43 350.
Adams said the city was looking at management models for these “key economic assets”, and these could affect the amended informal trading plan for these spaces.
In terms of the city’s informal trading by-law, traders have to apply for permits to sell in demarcated areas.
During the public comment period, concerns were raised about trading on Adderley Street, with Brenda Scarratt of the Church Street Market saying tourists were advised to avoid the area because of congestion. She also said the covering of stalls here in plastic and rope ties needed to be eliminated.
There were also calls for parking lanes to be removed on Adderley Street to allow for better spacing of stalls.
Other concerns raised related to the size and shape of the designated bays, the mix of goods, and the quality of consultation with affected traders. Growthpoint Properties said the city needed to deal with the gold buyers and other vendors who blocked access to The Golden Acre.
Ward councillor Dave Bryant said the plan dealt with the reallocation of some existing trading areas where there were high levels of congestion and ongoing conflicts between formal retail and informal trade.
The subcouncil recommended that some trading bays, in highly congested parts of Adderley Street, should be removed and those traders accommodated in some of the new informal trading spots across the city. The proposed changes must be referred to the mayoral committee for approval before being sent to the council for the final decision.
Meanwhile, a R1 million overhaul of the Station Deck taxi rank will start on Friday and all minibus taxis will operate from the Grand Parade for six days.
Brett Herron, mayco member for Transport for Cape Town, said the “urgent” upgrade would include repairs to the lighting and road surface, the repainting of buildings and road markings, and the installation of new destination boards. New lanes would be allocated to the destinations including Bellville, Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha, Manenberg, Mowbray and Wynberg.
“Once we have completed the repairs, the city will also implement a new operational plan to alleviate the congestion on the Station Deck.
“A new access control system for legal operators with the authority to drop off and pick up passengers will be implemented, which will assist in preventing illegal operators from entering and operating at the taxi rank. This will be to the benefit of legal operators, as well as to the commuters,” said Herron.
Cape Argus