Survey finds 94% opposition to Cape Town's R114m N2 safety barrier
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A survey of Cape Town residents has found that almost 94% oppose the City's proposed N2 Edge Safety Project, a 9km barrier between Khayelitsha and Langa budgeted at about R114 million.
Almost 94% of people polled about Cape Town's proposed N2 Edge Safety Project have voiced disapproval of the plan, according to a survey published this week by author, researcher and activist Candice Leigh King.
The barrier would cover a 9km stretch of the N2 between Baden Powell Road near Khayelitsha and Bhunga Avenue in Langa. The City of Cape Town has budgeted approximately R114 million for the project, which Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced earlier this year.
King, who discussed the findings on Cape Talk, said the survey - published as The People's Cost of Care Report - was intended to put the question to people with lived experience of the area. The poll drew responses from thousands of participants, including residents of the Cape Flats.
Supporters argue the wall will protect motorists, commuters and pedestrians from hijackings, smash-and-grabs and stone-throwing, while critics have called it a short-term response to crime that ignores the communities living alongside the highway.
Hill-Lewis has said the project will not only repair existing safety barriers and install new ones but also bring other improvements for adjacent communities, including pedestrian crossings, better lighting, safer grazing practices for livestock and fewer spaces for illegal dumping.