Inclusive Promenade a step in the right direction - Cape Argus

During a stroll along the promenade, Cape Town almost seems to be a poster child for some kind of idyllic, multicultural nirvana, says Mike Wills.


Cape Town - A walk along the promenade from Granger Bay to Sea Point on a warm winter’s Sunday afternoon is to experience the very best of our city.


During that stroll, Cape Town almost seems to be a poster child for some kind of idyllic, multicultural nirvana.


Wedged between a sweeping ocean and an imperious mountain range, every aspect from the promenade is a natural visual treat. But the man-made stuff is excellent as well. Intriguing artworks and design features offer constant diversion. Open-air gyms, funky playgrounds and a superb running and cycling environment provide outlets for exercise. The green spaces are occupied by flying frisbees and pick-up soccer games.


The space has been cleverly developed and very well-maintained.


And, on Sunday, it was being enjoyed by the full complement of our often-strained racial rainbow.


There was a palpable tolerance in diversity. Black and white. Muslims and Jews. Gay and straight couples. Very young and very old. Kids on expensive hoverboards and on home-made scooters made out of scrap wood.


An extraordinary melange of languages and accents, local and foreign, blended comfortably on the sea breeze. There was not a whiff of tension in the air.


It was an ocean apart (literally and metaphorically) from the hateful horrors of the Orlando nightclub attack and Donald Trump’s dark divisiveness in response. It also felt like a parallel universe from our angry local political discourse.


The swarms of hired bikes gave the place a continental vibe, as did the takeaway luxury pancakes by the pool and the snaking queues on Main Road for the trendy treat du jour, ice cream sandwiches. Those elements can be exclusive, but the promenade does not feel excluding. All of its main attractions are free and the area palpably appeals to everyone.


But we have to acknowledge that it is excluding in many ways.


There’s little low-income housing in that part of town except for staff quarters. Hence the court action by activist groups halting the sale of the Tafelberg Remedial School site in Sea Point by the provincial government to a private school developer.


The litigants want a mixed development that will provide at least some subsidised properties.


That’s a very complex issue. I’m not sure we’ll ever see substantial numbers of working-class residents living in Sea Point able to wander down to the promenade with their families on a lazy Sunday afternoon. At best, that’s a long, long way off realisation.


In the meantime, we need to get creative with transport - free trains and a Sunday shuttle from the station, special MyCiTi routes, subsidised taxis.


None of that is easy, especially when the taxi drivers get aggressive about lost income, and all of it is expensive. But it has to be tried.


Cape Town is often pilloried as a racially divisive city.


Our glorious promenade on the weekends is the best foot we can put forward to change that perception.


* Mike Wills’ column Open Mike appears in the Cape Argus every Wednesday


** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.


Cape Argus