Parliament will officially open on Thursday 11 February 2010 at 19:00 when President Jacob Zuma delivers the State of the Nation Address to the Joint Sitting of Parliament.

As this event, which is usually held in the morning, is to be an evening one, traffic will be heavily affected. The public are advised to please take note of the closures and arrange their routes accordingly.

Traffic will also be disrupted on 9 February 2010 for rehearsals of the event.

The table of the closures below shows which roads will be affected. These roads surround the Parliamentary precinct and are along the route that the President is to travel. Motorists are advised to avoid these roads as well as roads leading to the processional route between 16:30 and 22:00. Road users are requested to use alternative routes (especially when going to the airport), as the road closures may lead to congestion and excessive delays. Visitors to the Artscape, City Hall and the V & A Waterfront will also be affected as both the M3/Eastern Boulevard and De Waal Drive will be closed until 19:00. Motorists should instead wait until after 19:00 before driving along these routes.

Maps of the closures can be viewed here: Map 1; Map 2; Map 3

Affected Road	9 February 2010	11 February 2010
Klipper Road, Newlands: from Main Road (M4) to Newlands Avenue		17:45-18:50
Princess Anne Avenue, Newlands: from Newlands Avenue to Union Avenue		17:45-18:50
Newlands Avenue, Newlands: from Dean Street to Princess Anne Avenue		17:45-18:50
Dean Street, Newlands, west-bound: from Main Road (M4) to Newlands Avenue		17:45-18:50
M3, Union Avenue, Rhodes Drive, De Waal Drive, city-bound carriageway: from Newlands Avenue to city centre		17:45-18:50
Woolsack Drive, Rondebosch, west-bound: between Main Road (M4) and Rhodes Drive (M3)		17:45-18:50
N2, Settlers Way city-bound carriageway: from Main Road (M4) to city centre		17:45-18:50
Eastern Boulevard (N2) city-bound: from Hospital Bend to Table Bay Boulevard (including the Melbourne Road, Roodebloem Road and Searle Street on-ramps)		17:45-18:50
Hertzog Boulevard: from Eastern Boulevard to Heerengracht	17:30-22:30	17:45-18:50
Eastern Boulevard: Strand Street off-ramp	17:30-22:30	17:45-18:50
Strand Street: from Russel Street to Long Street	17:30-22:30	16:30-20:00
Adderley Street: from Hans Strijdom Avenue to Wale Street	17:30-22:30	16:30-20:00
Heerengracht: between Coen Steytler and Hans Strijdom Avenues	17:30-22:30	16:30-20:00
Bureau Street: between Adderley and Parliament Street	17:30-22:30	16:30-20:00
Spin Street: between Corporation and Parliament Street	17:30-22:30	16:30-20:00
Wale Street: between Queen Victoria and Adderley Street		16:30-20:00
Commercial Street: between Plein and Buitenkant Street		16:30-20:00
Plein Street: between Roeland and Spin Streets		16:30-20:00
Roeland Street: between Plein and Buitenkant Street		16:30-20:00
Government Avenue		16:30-20:00
Gallery Lane		16:30-20:00
St John's Road: between Plein and Vrede Street		16:30-20:00
Parliament Street from Gates of Parliament to Spin Street		19:40-20:00
Spin Street and Bureau Street from Plein Street to Adderley Street		19:40-20:00
Adderley Street from Wale Street to Table Bay Boulevard		19:40-20:00
Hans Strijdom from Adderley Street to Lower Long Street		19:40-20:00
Lower Long Street from Hans Strijdom to Coen Steytler		19:40-20:00

Please note these times have been moved forward by one hour.

Alternative routes

Road users are advised to use the following alternative routes into the CBD during the event:

1. M5, Black River Parkway, then onto the N1, Table Bay Boulevard.

2. M4, Main Road, onto Victoria Road up to the Good Hope Centre. Thereafter left
onto Tennant Road or right onto Oswald Pirow Road to circle the outer CBD.

3. Outer CBD Circle Road – use the following ring routes to the CBD to access:

• Oswald Pirow Road
• Table Bay Boulevard
• Buitengracht
• Buitensingel Street
• Orange Street
• Jutland Avenue
• Upper Roeland Street / Brandweer Street
• Tennant Street
  

Traffic control

On 11 February 2010, from 20:00 – 03:00, Traffic Officers will assist on all roads around the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), including Coen Steytler. Convention Square will be closed for security reasons during this time.

Parking restrictions

There will be parking restrictions in the following areas from midnight on Wednesday 10 February 2010 to 22:00 on Thursday 11 February 2010. Alternative parking options include the Grand Parade, Buitenkant Street and Darling Street.

• Princess Anne Avenue, Newlands
• Church Square, corner of Spin and Parliament Street
• Roeland Street: between Plein and Buitenkant Street
• Plein Street: between Roeland and Spin Street
• Spin Street: between Parliament and Plein Street
• Parliament Street: between Longmarket and Bureau Street
• Hatfield and St John's Streets: between Roeland and Orange Street
• Adderley Street: between Wale Street and Hertzog Boulevard
• St Mary's Cathedral Parking Area: between Bouquet and Roeland Street Gallery Lane
• Queen Victoria