With soaring temperatures to start the new year, thousands of locals and visitors flocked to Cape Town’s beaches to enjoy the day.
Alderman JP Smith said, “We welcome our visitors, knowing the importance of supporting the countless beachfront businesses and local economies that suffered during the lockdown pandemic.”
Alderman JP Smith shared images of the crowded beaches and stated that maximum resources were deployed to mitigate beach safety, crowd control, and traffic control.
He also said that some roads around the coast needed to be temporarily closed to ease traffic.
Spending New Year’s Day at the seaside is a tradition enjoyed by many locals and tourists.
Smith said, “Enforcement staff have done their best to balance and manage the situation, and with no severe incidents to report, the overall operational plan has been deemed successful considering the circumstances. While some of the residents of suburbs close to these coastal attractions must surely have experienced increased levels of inconvenience, I personally must thank these residents for their consideration and patience during these chaotic periods over the season thus far.”
He concluded that Cape Town has many coastal jewels that are worthy of being showcased to the world.