City denies MMC parked in cycle lane during EcoMobility Festival

The City is hosting the festival which aims to give residents and visitors the experience of a car-free precinct. Democratic Alliance spokesperson for transport, Nico de Jager, said a photograph of Walter’s car parked in a bicycle lane was published in Sunday World.

De Jager said, “Commitment to a greener mobility is crucial, and this does not exempt those responsible for transport or it is destined for failure. It is indeed sad that the MMC for Transport was caught with her hand in the cookie jar when her chauffeur-driven car was photographed parked in a bicycle lane while it is reported that she quickly went into a shop.”

However, City spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane said the story in Sunday World was not accurate.

Modingoane said, “The vehicle in question is a Metro police vehicle, not that of the MMC. The reason the car was temporarily [parked] there was to attend to a security imperative, as the City has been hosting many international guests for the EcoMobility Festival. The assertion that the MMC had gone to shop is completely untrue.”

Meanwhile, De Jager added that in Rivonia Road, Sandton, he noticed that minibus taxis branded with EcoMobility signage were double parked outside the Gautrain station, causing traffic jams in an area, where the lack of synchronised traffic lights further exacerbated traffic congestion.

In response, Modingoane said the issue of minibus taxis outside the Gautrain station was that these vehicles were given priority during the festival.

“As the City, we are very confident that the EcoMobility Festival is proving to be a success,” he said.

“Since the start of the festival, the Gautrain has shown a substantial passenger increase of 7.7 percent on its train passenger trips.”

Also read Declaration document gets more cities involved in ecomobility

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