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Announcing the launch of STF OPERATED“BICYCLE PARK & WALK” FACILITIES

Background about STF

Stellenbosch Trail Fund (STF) is a registered not-for-profit and public-benefit organisation. Founded in 2011, it has a trail maintenance team of eight permanent employees and volunteers serving as company directors and management.STF maintains over 50km of mountain-bike trails in the nature areas around Stellenbosch, as well as the walking trails along the Eerste River and in the adjacent parks. The STF team also removes rubbish and alien vegetation along the river on a daily basis, and has planted over 500 trees as part of its annual commemorative tree planting initiative.

The “STF Bicycle Park and Walk” Concept

STF first proposed this concept to Stellenbosch Municipality in August 2023. Given our town’s traffic congestion and lack of vehicle parking, it is imperative that Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) strategies be investigated and tested. We received Municipal Council approval in October 2024 to implement the bicycle parking solution as a pilot project. Today, with approved building plans and tremendous community support, STF is proudly launching this service to the public! Our first location is conveniently positioned in Andringa Street, directly across Eikestad Mall. From this location, we will test public demand, fine-tune our operational processes, and then hopefully expand the service to several more sites around town.

How the service will operate

  • The service operates on weekdays from 07:45 to 17:15.
  • Two STF employees are on duty to assist members of the public.
  • Bicycles are securely parked in custom-built parking bays, with protection against scratching.
  • Each parking bay has a unique locking mechanism and key, and the bicycle owner leaves the parking area with that bay’s key. On return, the key is used to unlock the owner’s bicycle.
  • The parking area is also monitored through a camera linked to armed response, and the STF staff members have a panic button to use in case of emergency.
  • Users pay STF a nominal fee (in the form of a donation) to use the parking area.

Community Support

STF receives no municipal funding to perform our work on municipal land. We therefore rely purely on donations from the public. We would like to thank and recognize the following supporters from the Stellenbosch business community, who all contributed their resources free of charge:
SiteEye, a technology solutions business that designed and manufactured the bicycle storage system free of charge, and supplied the 24/7 security monitoring.
Tim Ziehl Architects, who drew up the formal building plans and drove the municipal approval process.
Groeneveld Construction, which assisted with the overall implementation of the service.

We are excited about contributing to the broader Non-Motorised Transport strategy in Stellenbosch and providing our community with a convenient and safe “BicyclePark and Walk” service. We look forward to receiving community feedback and expanding the service across town.

Ernst Gouws
Director: Stellenbosch Trail Fund NPC
ernst@stellenboschtrailfund.co.za
Tel 083600 4359

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