Cyclists , roadworks, rockfalls and #Chappies are not good bedfellows. As the weather warms up, more and more cyclists are taking to the roads for summer training. The Chappies/Cyclist debate is raging at dinner tables all over the peninsula and on many Facebook Community forums.
The reality of the situation is that Chapman’s Peak Drive is still dangerous on the Noordhoek Side of the viewpoint following damage to the slopes in the Wildfire of March 2015. It would be irresponsible and dangerous to officially open the section to cyclists, runners and pedestrians.
Saying that we are well aware that many cyclists ignore the warning signs on Chappies and cycle or run as they please, when they please and where they please. We have heard many a cyclist saying to the pointsman on duty “Catch me if you can?!” Most often the justification for disobeying the signs and laws, is that they are doing it at their own risk.
What does “own risk” mean? If an accident occurs from a rockfall on #Chappies – risk means involving Emergency Services and impacting on other road users, family and friends. Regular users will often see small rocks in the road that have been dislodged. If you could see the damage that one small stone can do to your car, you wouldn’t want a falling rock to land on your head! Big rocks are also dislodged, often unheard and unseen by the public and by cyclists. For example on 11/11/2015 – this 4m³ rock was safely captured in one of the fences.
For those runners and cyclists that do not pay attention to the erected warning signs, it is worth noting that the signs are legally enforceable.
Chapman’s Peak Drive is doing its’ best to stablize the cliff faces and we have aerial teams out there almost everyday, doing cliff maintenance work. The south side of the drive (from the top viewpoint to Noordhoek) is still officially closed to pedestrians, runners and cyclists. A decision was made to maintain the restriction until the end of the year as any high-risk winds are still dislodging rocks which can be extremely dangerous if it falls on an unprotected runner or cyclist.
We do understand the frustrations and the desire to cycle freely along the route, and we would love nothing more than to happily say “Go, use Chappies and cycle to your heart’s content” . Entilini Operations cannot guarantee the safety of the least protected road users and therefore cannot endorse this class of road users, whilst there is still a high risk of incidence.
We are hoping to open the section to cyclists in early 2016 if the rockfall situation is stable.
As always we ask the respect from both motorists and cyclists to respect each other as road users. Cyclists please wear helmets, bright clothing for visibility, ride in single file and stay left!
Motorists please expect cyclists and stay wider of the rider, slow down, watch for cyclists on the inside lane if you turn left (remember cyclists are FAST!) and take note when you open your car door please!
Images in the video below were all taken on Chapman’s Peak Drive by Instagrammers and Cape Point Route.
