SAFE PASSAGE PRECINCT

The Safe Passage Precinct is South Africa’s first street experiment, rethinking how streets can function through temporary, evidence based urban interventions. Located on Bree Street between Wale and Shortmarket Streets in Cape Town, the six month pilot forms part of the broader Safe Passage Programme and the long term Safe Passage route connecting the Cape Town CBD to Langa.

The project temporarily reallocates road space to create a calmer, safer, and more accessible street environment while maintaining vehicle access in both directions. Through lane narrowing, temporary delineator kerbs, bollards, landscaping, removable seating, and formalised loading bays, the intervention tests how public space can better support pedestrians, cyclists, local businesses, delivery riders, and everyday street life.

The Safe Passage Precinct is designed as a live public participation and monitoring process. Instead of relying only on drawings and reports, the street itself becomes the testing ground. Traffic movement, pedestrian activity, business feedback, loading operations, safety, and public perception are monitored throughout the pilot to understand what works before permanent infrastructure investment is considered.

The project directly tests elements proposed in the City of Cape Town’s CBD Mobility and Accessibility Plan, where Bree Street is identified as a future “Special Activity Street.” It demonstrates how tactical urbanism can be used to improve road safety, reduce vehicle speeds, rebalance street space toward people, and strengthen local economic activity while maintaining access and functionality.