Muizenberg on a Sunday morning is a lovely thing. Surfers out in droves. The waft of coffee from the city’s tiniest Bootleggers. The smell of wax from Lifestyle’s. The doof-doof speakers of a tricked-out GTI cruising for a parking spot.
And that ou is going to have to pop another disc in the shuttle from this month, as the long-awaited (feared?) rebuild of the Muizenberg beachfront kicks off. It’s going to make traffic and parking a nightmare for the next year and a bit, but it will all be worth it in the end, right?
In December 2024 Time Out Cape Town laid out just what’s in store for the Muizenberg revamp, and that work finally kicks off this week.
Construction begins in the corner up against the railway line, and the informal gravel parking area along the railway line will be closed for the next few months. That also means there’s no access to the seaside walk that links Surfer’s Corner to St James (a favourite spot for Jamie-Lee Domburg!). Instead, you’ll have to use the rail level crossing at the beachfront, walk along Main Road, and then go under the railway again at Bailey’s Cottage
‘A project of this magnitude will cause inconveniences,’ said the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews. ‘I request users to please adhere to the signage, to avoid the work areas and to keep their pets away from these in the interest of safety. We are counting on the public’s support and collaboration.’
And, there’s more bad news. The City also says that the small parking area on the seaward side of the Muizenberg Civic Centre is closed, taking another 20-odd parks out of use. Ouch.
With these two parking areas out of play, you can just about say goodbye to finding a Sunday morning park down at the beach. Unless you get there early or are happy to cruise and wait, that is. My advice? Park further away, in the suburbs, and enjoy the short stroll instead.
Winter is hard enough on the seafront businesses that make Muizies such a lively corner of Cape Town, let alone with the hassle and frustration off major construction. Let’s give them a little extra support until this project is done in late-2026.
Call that gridlock? Here’s why Claremont traffic is about to get crazy…