Eight of Cape Town’s most widely used roads are to be re-named.
The roads, collectively covering more than 100km, are:
* Hendrik Verwoerd Drive.
* Jip de Jager Street.
* Willie van Schoor Drive.
* Vanguard Drive.
* Lansdowne Road.
* Jan Smuts Drive.
* NY1.
* JB Hertzog Boulevard.
Mayor Patricia de Lille has promised Capetonians will have the final say.
The eight routes, connecting dozens of suburbs, have been earmarked for public hearings.
They are included in 31 recommendations made by a previous renaming committee, headed by Rhoda Kadalie.
Four have already been changed: Oswald Pirow was changed to Chris Barnard Street, Eastern Boulevard took Nelson Mandela’s name, while the concourse between the Artscape theatre and the Civic Centre was renamed after Albert Luthuli.
The pedestrian section of Castle Street is to be renamed after Khoisan leader Krotoa.
An additional change – Western Boulevard to Helen Suzman Boulevard – was introduced by special council resolution.
Of the remaining 27, 19 will be up for public comment in wards and sub-councils, and because the eight major routes criss-cross the city over vast distances they will be debated at special public hearings.
De Lille said on Thursday: “Symbolically these (eight) arterial routes’ renaming will contribute significantly towards shaping an inclusive city which recognises our collective history.”
Lansdowne Road, for example, passes through areas traditionally considered white, coloured and black, and is expected to elicit a wide variety of comments.
A City of Cape Town source said the city would be particularly aware of the potential impact on businesses, and adequate time would be provided for the transition.
Michael Bagraim, head of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “You have to weigh up the expense with the emotion. As long as we can keep the expense as minimal as possible.
“
... The real problem with arterial routes is you have to change maps, software, GPSes. But we’re not in a static society. We’re a living society, and I don’t think South Africa should be excluded from getting rid of the negativity of the past. We need to move on.
“I strongly believe it’s not an unjustifiable expense. I believe the majority of Cape Town businesses would support this...”
Public hearings on the eight roads will be held from March 6 to 27. Residents will be notified through posters and print and radio adverts.
The sessions will involve ward councillors and organisations, and people will also be able to take part on Twitter and Facebook.
The sub-councils will report back to the naming committee in May.
Committee chairman Brett Herron said the rest of the recommendations would have more “localised” public participation.
But Kadalie slammed the change of Vanguard Drive, in particular: “I think Vanguard Drive is iconic. Because it is so long and straddles so many communities, everybody knows that road. It would cost too much to change... I’m an anti-street-name-change person, that’s why I was ideal to head the committee, and I’m apolitical. I feel betrayed by the DA. We went through this process meticulously... and after the whole process our recommendations were not followed... ” - Cape Argus