The City of Cape Town, last week, commenced with a dune rehabilitation project which forms part of a long-term initiative to rehabilitate, revitalise and maintain the Table View beachfront, one of the city’s prime tourist attractions along the Atlantic coastline.
In a press release, the City said that work will take place along a 3km stretch of coastline spanning from Dolphin Beach in the south to Bokkombaai in the north.
The project encompasses the rehabilitation of the coastal dune system, improving pedestrian access to the beach, implementing sand management and upgrading various facilities, services and infrastructure.
Table View beach provides an iconic view of Table Mountain in the distance, it is a favourite kite-surfing spot in the summer months and extremely popular among locals and visitors from all walks of life.
“Unfortunately, over the past 15 years or so, the public amenities and coastal infrastructure have deteriorated due to the impact of the local environment.
“The beach is not as pristine as it used to be, the dune cordon has deteriorated and lost its ability to protect the surrounding infrastructure from windblown sand, and the parking facilities, beach access, and services such as the stormwater infrastructure is in urgent need of repairs and replacement,” the city said.
Alderman Eddie Andrews, deputy mayor and mayoral committee member for spatial planning and the environment said that, “we are extremely excited about this undertaking as it will significantly improve this stretch of our coastline to the benefit of all our residents and visitors”.
Earthworks related to the rehabilitation commenced on July 11, 2022 and involved moving sand using a combination of dozers, excavators and dump trucks to reinstate the dunes which cover an area of eight hectares.
Once profiled, the dunes will be stabilised using wind nets placed perpendicular to the dominant wind direction and revegetated with suitable dune-specific plant species, and irrigated.
The city said that the dune rehabilitation project should take around 18 to 20 months with estimated completion around June 2024.
“We will put up fencing to protect the newly profiled dunes.
“I ask residents and visitors to please use the designated pathways to access the beach and to stay clear of the dunes so that we can give the vegetation a chance to be established.
“Dunes fulfil an important function as they help trap sand on the beachfront, and prevent it from being blown onto roads and adjacent infrastructure,” said Andrews.
The city successfully implemented a similar dune rehabilitation project in Hout Bay over the past five years.
This project demonstrated how dunes, once rehabilitated and stabilised, can manage wind-blown sand and reduce the maintenance burden of adjacent infrastructure.
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