Take a Green Tour of Sandton

WORDS Lisa Johnston

Every Friday at 9.30am and 12.30pm Sandton trings to the sound of multiple bicycle bells as a small pack of corporates wend their way through the area’s congested streets on a tour of its green buildings. The rule is if one person hits their bell, everyone else must follow suit. 

It might seem a childish game, but even the most serious execs turn giddy explorer once they get the feel of the wind at their heels. This is particularly so because the bikes are electric, so moving through traffic is effortless and it’s liberating to be wheeling around while everyone else is stuck in their cars.

Which is exactly the point of the tours and the campaign (#DecongestSandton) driving them – to get people used to the advantages of green mobility, as well as the latest developments in green architecture. The ultimate aim of #DecongestSandton is to set up a series of cycle lanes serviced by cycle docking stations where people can collect, leave and recharge their bikes in the city.

The tours take in some of the area’s more prominent green buildings, from Alexander Forbes’ impressive new headquarters to the neighbouring Ernst & Young and Nedbank offices. But more importantly, they encourage people to ditch four wheels in favour of two.

Aside from helping to decongest the traffic-burdened city centre, using an electric bike is fun and cheap to run. When fitted with a standard single battery, a bike will run for 25km without peddling and cost about 2c per km (based on the amount of electricity it takes to charge the battery). Of course, if you add your own pedal power to the mix, the kilometres increase and the cost drops.

#DecongestSandton is driven by Cycology, The Green Building Council of South Africa and Solid Green. For more information or to book a tour, visit decongest.co.za or email jarred.lewin@gbsa.org.za.