New 40km/h speed limit for Simon’s Town

Motorists will have to slow down when entering Simon’s Town, where a new 40km/h speed limit has been introduced.

Signage was posted on Tuesday May 31, when the new limit took effect.

Speeding was such a problem on the approach to the historic town - especially during the morning and evening peak hours - that residents used handmade signs and flags in an effort to slow traffic, says Luana Pasanisi, from the Green Group, an environmental organisation that helped to campaign for the new speed limit.

"A group of us had to volunteer to slow down traffic on the main road because the baboons were coming down," said Ms Pasanisi.

Ward councillor Simon Liell-Cock said speeding was a problem and traffic officers had had to monitor the area and carry out “enforcement exercises” on the Simon’s Town Main Road.

The main road, apart from seeing the usual commercial and commuter bustle, is part of a popular tourist route and experiences high volumes of traffic throughout the year, especially on weekends and during the holidays.

The decision to reduce the speed limit had been taken after the City had appointed a consultant to do a speed survey in 2019, but the pandemic had delayed its implementation, said Mr Liell-Cock.

Residents and businesses along the main road had expressed support for the new speed limit, he said.

However, Ms Pasanisi said motorists on the main road still took chances, and she would like to see speed-enforcement cameras installed.

A resident commenting on social media about the new speed limit, said: “That’s great news! We lived on the main road, and the constant speeding was absolutely horrendous.”

The 40km/h speed limit applies to the stretch of road from Victoria Way (north of the navy base) to Molteno Road. Mr Liell-Cock said there was no intention at this stage to extend it to other parts of the town.