Toni Van Eyssen walks her dog, Dipstick at the Green Point Urban Park
Green Point Park visitors are urged to adhere to all the Covid-19 protocols and physical distancing measures that are in place to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
All gates to the park are now open for access, picnics are allowed and visitors are encouraged to bring along a hand sanitiser.
The tot-lot, experiential garden, trim park, dog off-leash and play and fitness equipment have been reopened. A security guard has been posted at each of these areas to ensure that physical distancing is adhered to.
The park currently contains among others, the Biodiversity Showcase Garden, an adventure play park, a wetland garden and water systems, open lawn areas and shaded spaces and a “tea in the park” coffee shop, which is now open.
“During level 3, people would impatiently queue in numbers especially on weekends, but we had to count everyone and closed all other gates giving them access to one gate, so we would be able to count and manage the numbers,” said security officer Sifundo Nguye.
Park visitor, Jody Grant said she was grateful that the restrictions had been eased. “This is great news because people couldn’t even eat in the park and that forced us to leave early, having enjoyed just a short time in the park with so many restrictions. It was frustrating,” she said.
The City’s mayoral committee member for economic opportunities and asset management, James Vos, said the park was a very popular space which attracted visitors from across Cape Town. For this reason, he said, it was important to manage the access to this facility so that it complied with applicable regulations.
“The Green Point Park offers more than just a park. It offers an ’ecology park’, integrating principles of sustainable development and smart living into the design, construction and operation of the park,” he said.
He added that the new Experiential Education Garden created another feature of interest in one of the areas on the outskirts of the park that was currently underutilised as a natural grass meadow space.
“It promises to be a place of discovery and learning and will function as an outdoor environmental education space for engaging and activating all five basic senses and exposing children to this interactive outdoor experience. Learners will hopefully learn new skills and challenge themselves to take responsibility for the environment and their actions,” he said.