Cape Town - The Cape Town Partnership has introduced a new urban attraction in the CBD, The City Walk, which will offer tourists more to see when visiting Cape Town from next year.
The announcement was made at the organisation’s annual general meeting last week.
The attraction will be co-created through multilevel stakeholder engagement and will bring the city’s Big Six tourism attractions – Cape Point, Robben Island, Groot Constantia, Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch and the V&A Waterfront – up to seven.
The City Walk will feature the cultural, economic and social upliftment of the city’s interconnected public spaces and starts in the Company’s Garden, proceeds down Government Avenue and St George’s Mall, before turning on to the Fan Walk and ending at the Prestwich Memorial in St Andrew’s Square in Green Point.
The precinct will feature free wireless connectivity and the use of informative signage to assist in peeling back the layers of Cape Town’s hidden stories.
The introduction of more public ablutions, experimental street food offerings, permanent as well as temporary public art, and events will help to make the Walk a lively destination. The Cape Town Partnership envisions the route as an extension of the daytime foot traffic in the area, with spin-offs for the surrounding businesses, residents and commuters.
Bulelwa Makalima-Ngewana, chief executive of Cape Town Partnership said the development of a curated route or cultural precinct was something which would involve the stakeholders and participants in this story.
“We want it to be authentic and to include diverse voices and perspectives.”
The voices will include those of both formal and informal retailers, cultural and historical landmarks and institutions and organisations concerned with contemporary development and public life. They will also include residents, visitors, students, scholars, artists, entrepreneurs and everyone who finds themselves engaging with the city.
The project has been endorsed by the City of Cape Town.
Tim Harris, head of the city’s investment directorate, said that for visitors such a route would provide an accessible and coherent means to experience Cape Town as a destination.
“For locals such a route can open up the city, provide a sense of inclusivity and encourage the sense of Cape Town being a ‘crossroads’ or meeting point across divergent histories, cultures and demographics.”
* For more info, e-mail [email protected] or see social media hashtags #CityWalkCT.