The City of Cape Town has added a dedicated 5.58km cycling route between Bloubergstrand and the West Coast village of Melkbos, which is home to Africa’s only nuclear power plant.

The lane is said to be one of the most picturesque in the world, passing by some of Cape Town’s best surfing beaches, with views of Robben Island and Table Mountain.

It runs along the eastern edge of the M14, and is three metres wide – allowing for two-way cycling traffic, with a kerb creating a safe barrier from other vehicles. The lane was structurally created in line with European cycling paths, which are often used by families on vacation; and the civil engineering solution from Cape Town’s MyCity bus project was also applied, whereby a narrow kerb edge is used to separate personal vehicle traffic from bus lanes.

Unlike the increasingly dense general West Coast development corridor, Melkbos is largely shielded from the expanding developments due to its proximity to the evacuation zone of SA’s only nuclear power station, which is adjacent to Koeberg. It offers exciting restaurants, while retaining an authentic West Coast-village feel.

The cycling project aims to eventually link more scenic venues within cycling range of SA cities.