the organising team had to cross . It took significant time and planning to create a detailed route mitigation plan in conjunction with professional traffic engineers to ensure that the event ’ s impact on public access and Cape Town ’ s traffic remains minimal .
“ This meant countless hours in meetings , presenting options and alternative solutions , reviewing historic traffic flow statistics , and plotting road closures against real-time traffic impact ,” says Jordaan . “ Coming up with a sustainable solution that meets everyone ’ s requirements while also catering for future growth is no easy task , but we had a passionate , experienced and collaborative team around the table who all shared the same vision .”
The final route revealed a course that was “ samesame , but different ” – retaining some of the iconic elements of the race , adding some enhancements to maximise experience , and removing unwanted obstacles like the dreaded Buitengracht Street bridge that has been the thorn in the flesh of many a participant . Runners will experience these enhancements from the moment they travel to the Race Village on 16 October .
One solution to minimise traffic congestion was to introduce a Park & Ride and Park & Walk system , which will see runners either catching a bus to the start from UCT or Century City , or park at the V & A Waterfront ’ s Battery Park or Silo garages and walk to the start .
“ We hope to grow this programme in the coming years to the point where nobody will drive into the City to run the race - not only to help alleviate traffic issues on race day , but as a means to minimise the impact on the environment ” notes Jordaan .
Having learned valuable lessons from the 2021 race when COVID-19 restrictions forced the team to create smaller start groups that started in continuous waves , Jordaan and her team have retained smaller batch starts for the 2022 race . Runners will join their seeded sub-groups at designated times , and will flow towards the new start line on Helen Suzman Boulevard where groups will set off two minutes apart .
The first group to leave , however , will be the Elite Wheelchair Division , taking off at 6am to clear the way before the Elite runners start 15 minutes later .
Moving the start and finish to Helen Suzman Boulevard will cater for increased participation in the coming years , while also offering a thrilling and spectator-friendly Formula 1-style finish straight – perfect for TV .
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