Rethinking Street Pedestrianisation in Cape Town: Lessons from Global Cities and Local Realities

Every time I visit a holiday town or city abroad, I find myself envious of how effortlessly these places manage to pedestrianise downtown high streets. It’s not uncommon to see bustling streets closed to vehicle traffic, especially in the evenings, transforming into vibrant public spaces that prioritize the needs of people on foot over those in cars. Whether it’s a seasonal closure or timed to coincide with non-peak hours, these pedestrian-friendly zones create a sense of community and liveliness that is often lacking in many of our South African cities.

Here in Cape Town, the instinct might be to simply replicate these successes by pedestrianising more streets. And on the surface, that seems like a logical solution. After all, we've seen examples of pedestrianised zones in our city that work well during certain times of the day. St. George’s Mall, a pedestrianised street in the central business district, is a daytime success, bustling with office workers and visitors enjoying the street’s shops and cafés. The V&A Waterfront, which masterfully integrates pedestrian spaces, is another example of successful urban design. Even Shortmarket Street, transformed in the lead-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup as part of the city's shared streets initiative, showed how pedestrian-friendly infrastructure can be a valuable asset.

But the reality is far more nuanced. While it’s easy to point to these examples as models of success, pedestrianisation isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. In fact, some of the pedestrian zones we celebrate during the day can feel desolate and unsafe at night. Take St. George’s Mall, for instance—while it thrives during business hours, after dark, the space can feel eerily empty. This brings us to a critical consideration: successful pedestrianised spaces require more than just closing streets to cars. The surrounding environment, the mix of land uses, and the density of residents all play a crucial role in determining whether these spaces can remain vibrant around the clock.

Pedestrianised Spaces: A Complex Equation

One of the most common mistakes when advocating for pedestrianisation is to assume that simply removing cars will automatically make a street more vibrant. The reality is that a variety of factors contribute to the success or failure of these spaces.

First, we must look at the residential density surrounding pedestrian zones. For a pedestrianised street to be successful, particularly after hours, there needs to be a critical mass of people living nearby. Streets like St. George’s Mall are surrounded primarily by office buildings, which means they attract a large number of people during the workday but empty out at night when the office workers go home. Without a nearby residential population or other nighttime attractions to draw people to the area, these spaces can feel deserted after dark, which in turn can make them less safe.

Contrast this with the V&A Waterfront, which has become a pedestrian-friendly environment both day and night. Why? Because it’s a destination in its own right, with a diverse range of offerings that attract people throughout the day and well into the evening. The mix of retail, restaurants, entertainment, and residential units ensures that the space remains lively, while high-quality amenities provide comfort and security for visitors. But even here, there are areas where the vibrancy wanes—take the Silo precinct, for example, which, despite its stunning architecture and public art installations, can feel quiet and underutilised at night compared to the bustling V&A Mall.

The Importance of Mixed-Use Environments

Pedestrianisation works best in environments where there is a mix of uses—places where people live, work, shop, and play. The V&A Waterfront succeeds in part because it offers this mix, ensuring that there is always something happening, no matter the time of day. On the other hand, areas like St. George’s Mall and Thibault Square suffer at night because they lack this diversity of use. Without restaurants, entertainment, or residential buildings in close proximity, these spaces simply don’t have enough reasons for people to be there after dark.

This points to a broader issue in urban design: creating pedestrianised zones that are truly vibrant requires thoughtful planning that goes beyond traffic management. Pedestrianisation needs to be about more than just removing cars; it’s about creating spaces where people want to spend time. And that means thinking about the kinds of activities, businesses, and amenities that will draw people to these spaces, not just during the day but at all hours.

The Role of Vehicles in Vibrant Streets

It’s also worth considering that, in some cases, vehicles are a crucial part of what makes a street lively. Jonny Friedman, founder of Urban Lime, often speaks about the importance of cars in urban life, pointing out that some of the world’s most famous streets are not pedestrian-only but instead strike a balance between vehicles and foot traffic. This suggests that the goal shouldn’t always be to completely remove cars, but rather to think carefully about how different modes of transportation can coexist in a way that enhances, rather than detracts from, the urban experience.

Consider, for example, the role of cars in accessing certain types of businesses. High-end retail and restaurants often rely on customers who arrive by car, especially in cities like Cape Town, where public transport options are limited. If we pedestrianise a street without considering the needs of these businesses, we risk driving away the very people who would otherwise help make the street vibrant.

Lessons from Other Cities

Globally, cities that have successfully pedestrianised streets have often done so in areas that already had the right conditions for success. Many of these streets are located in tourist-heavy areas, where there is a constant influx of foot traffic, or in neighbourhoods with high residential density and a mix of uses that keep people in the area throughout the day. For example, cities in Europe are often able to pedestrianise streets because their urban cores are more compact and have a long tradition of mixed-use development.

In contrast, pedestrianisation efforts in some American cities have failed precisely because they were applied in areas that didn’t have the same level of foot traffic or residential density. In many cases, these streets were "demalled"—that is, opened back up to cars—after pedestrianisation failed to generate the expected foot traffic.

A Bottom-Up Approach to Pedestrianisation

Ultimately, successful pedestrianisation is about more than just top-down planning. It requires a bottom-up approach that takes into account the needs of the people who use the space, as well as the businesses and residents who rely on it. Before we rush to pedestrianise more streets in Cape Town, we should first look at how to improve the pedestrian environments we already have. Spaces like Thibault Square and the Bonteheuwel town centre, both of which have been pedestrianised but remain underutilised, offer valuable lessons in what not to do.

We need to ask ourselves: what would make these spaces more attractive to people? Do we need more residential development in the area? Better lighting and security at night? More diverse businesses that draw people in after hours? By answering these questions, we can begin to create pedestrian environments that are truly vibrant and successful.

Conclusion

Pedestrianisation can be a powerful tool for creating vibrant public spaces, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. In Cape Town, we’ve seen both successes and failures in our pedestrianised zones, and the lessons are clear: simply removing cars won’t magically transform a street into a bustling hub of activity. To create successful pedestrian environments, we need to think holistically about what makes a space work, from the mix of uses to the density of residents to the amenities that attract people throughout the day and night. Only by addressing these underlying factors can we create the kinds of pedestrian-friendly streets that make cities more livable for everyone.