Incoming from regular commenter, Reflex:
You have probably heard this already, but saw it online and thought about you.
Duran Duran have rushed out to record a new song for the World Cup.
The lyrics go: “His name is Rio and he is watching from the stands”.
Quick question, how are you getting to the matches you have booked for?
Firstly, it’s quite funny and I hadn’t heard it, although I have since been sent it 189 times.
Secondly, it scares me that people who have never met me still think of me when they see an unbelievably corny joke.
And thirdly, that’s a damn good question.
When large number people attend a sporting event, there is bound to be some sort of congestion. Those die-hard eggchasers who attended the Rugby Festival back in February and then whined about the traffic obviously have rather selective amnesia when it comes to these things. The last game I went to at Newlands was characterised by some of the worst traffic I have ever seen in the surrounding areas. Matches at Newlands, Bramall Lane, Wembley, Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, St James’ Park – wherever – all attract lots of people and you can expect somewhat chaotic scenes before and after the games.
An extra bit of spice to be considered when looking at Cape Town Stadium is that on one side is the South Atlantic and on the other is a fairly large mountain. Both of which effectively rule out any approach from those directions.
This leaves two possible angles: drive around the Atlantic Seaboard route and park in Sea Point or the more-popular approach from the city centre. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. The coastal route will be much less utilised and should therefore be the obvious choice. However, if something goes wrong there – one breakdown, one accident – it’s game over. It’s a very thin, winding road around the coast and there are no second chances. In short, it’s the high risk/high reward route. And I can’t take risks on World Cup games.
The City Centre approach has a much better chance of success, but will be stupidly busy. Getting anywhere within walking distance of the stadium and parking a car will be nigh on impossible. And that’s what the organisers want, because they want you to use public transport. But there are issues there too.
I have no problem with using the Park and Ride to the stadium from the CBD. But that still means that I have to get to the Park and Ride car park in the CBD in the first place. If the roads into the CBD are congested – and they will be – then that’s not going to be easy.
I could take the Park and Ride bus from UCT, but that’s got to also get to the CBD along those same congested roads. And the vehicle I would perhaps least want to be in when stuck in heavy traffic is a bus. Especially one driven by someone who doesn’t have any personal interest in getting to the stadium before kick off.
And that leaves me with the train, which seems like a sensible choice except for the risk generated by their rather unreliable nature. And remember that I said I can’t take risks with World Cup games.
In short, I’m a bit stuck. I thought I’d formulated a brilliant plan, but then I read about the no fly zone over the stadium during the World Cup and anyway, I was short of one helicopter. Teleportation hasn’t been invented yet and neither has time travel, using which, I could have popped down to the pub in Green Point on Wednesday and then fast-forwarded 48 hours. However, the spin off of the time travel plan was the pub plan, wherein I popped down to the pub in Green Point on Wednesday and then drank for 48 hours.
This pub plan still seems like the most viable option at present.
All of the more sensible options discussed above are summed up in the Cape Town City Getting Around Guide.
