Cape Town: Member of the Mayoral Committee for Safety and Security – Alderman JP Smith has announced about the docking of world’s largest ocean liner Queen Victoria cruise and Queen Marry 2 in Cape Town on Friday, April 12, 2024.
The cruise boards a lot of passengers to the city which is for now an utmost need and will bring a lot of jobs.
Reportedly, The Royal Congestion is expecting the docking of Queen Mary-2 and Queen Victoria Cruise liners, for which motorists are advised that the increased congestion is anticipated in the upcoming days and is associated with the arrival of cruise liners in the harbour.
According to the official reports, the Queen Victoria was scheduled to arrive at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 11, 2024 and will depart at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, April 12, 2024.
Whereas Queen Mary-2 is scheduled to arrive at 5:30 a.m. on Friday, April 12, 2024, and will depart at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, 2024.
However, the time schedule might be affected by the regular changing weather. For this reason, the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas, said that the Traffic Signal Operators will monitor the conditions on Nelson Mandela Boulevard, FW De Klerk Boulevard, and Buitengracht Street closely on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Quintas said that the operators will use CCTV cameras to point to the location and extent of vehicle queues throughout the day and activate the appropriate signal timing plans to best manage the queues.
He stated that the aim is to accommodate the heavy traffic flows into the CBD by accommodating the motorists who are leaving the area.
Councillor added that the operators will remain in constant contact with the Cape Town Traffic Services and operations personnel at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. Whereas appropriate, variable message signs of the Cape Town Freeway Management System will be used to alert the motorists to areas of congestion on roadways.
The interventions are supported by the officials of City’s Traffic Service who are collaborating with port officials to implement the measures that aims at reducing congestion.
Alderman JP Smith stated that the events brought massive economic stimulation, which was noted in the traffic flow entering the city and became impeded during the boarding periods for the cruise liners.
He shared that the Traffic Service is working closely wit the port officials in an attempt to implement the measures that will reduce the congestion and has experienced on the departure dates.
Smith added that the officials will override and attempt to provide manual pointsman duties across the intersections that are timed for conventional traffic flow and passengers who are scheduled to board the vessels and are encouraged to ensure the early arrival.
Motorists who normally commute along the roads which are close to and around the Waterfront were urged to consider alternative routes during the periods.
JP Smith has released further advisory notice, which will be given to the media closer to such times when an influx of passengers has entered the harbour area.
Traffic congestion is a headache at the best of times, and it is important to keep in mind that events such as the sign of economic prosperity ultimately enhance the equality of life for all the residents.
Alderman JP Smith has also mentioned Wesgro, which is administering the promotion of the destination as one choice for the cruise travel market.
JP Smith declared that Cape Town has grown massively as a cruise tourism destination, between 2016 and 2019. Each season has averaged between 35 and 40 ships arriving at the port in the city.
For the season 2023-24, 67 ships have visited to the Cape Town port. These gains have directly followed the City’s support for the Cruise Cape Town initiative, administered by Wesgro.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Economic Growth – Alderman James Vos has said that it is a sector of tourism which is deeply valuable for them, according to research by Wesgro, revealing that the cruise tourism has injected R1.2 billion into the Western Cape economy between November 2022 and May 2023.
“For every 30 arriving cruise passengers, the Western Cape cruise industry created one full-time job. This is worth bearing in mind when considering the thousands of passengers on board the Queen Mary-2 and Queen Victoria,” confirmed JP Smith.
JP Smith stated that the City will continue working closely with its partners to make Cape Town stand out on the global cruise travel map.
Reportedly, Cape Town’s profile is growing as a tourist destination that is boosting the economy and the City is aware of the inconvenience of increased congestion for which it is implementing the mitigation measures that are possible.
As per JP Smith, Cape Town is anticipating high volumes of traffic on Thursday, Friday and Saturday which is attributed to the dock of the Queen Mary-2 and Queen Victoria cruise liners in the harbour, especially during the boarding periods.
Alderman JP Smith has confirmed that joint efforts are put to prevent the avoid the snarl ups on and around Nelson Mandela Boulevard, FW De Klerk Boulevard and Buitengracht Street.
Moreover, motorists are encouraged to plan the alternative routes around the Waterfront area during peak times and passengers scheduled to board and are advised to arrive early.
As per the member of the Safety and Security, the passengers are urged to use the Christian Barnard and Marine Drive entrances to the docks and not the general Waterfront access routes, as this will help a great deal in minimising the impact of other road users.