Joburgers are warming up for the Discovery 702 Walk the Talk, which brings walking enthusiasts from around the city together to appreciate Johannesburg as the weather begins to warm up. Here is a list of road closures to accommodate motorists and walkers.
Several roads around Emmarentia Dam will be closed to traffic on Sunday 27 July for the Discovery 702 Walk the Talk.
During this event, City of Johannesburg executive mayor, Parks Tau, will launch the 20 Years of Democracy exhibition at Marks Park Sports Club, where the walk will begin and end. The launch will take place at 6am, just before the 20km Race Walk.
The Discovery 702 Walk the Talk is recognised as South Africa’s biggest walk, and the annual event has thousands of participants in four categories: the 20km Race Walk which kicks off at 6.30am; the 20km Walk for Democracy starting at 7am; the 8km walk at 9am; and the 5km walk at 11am.
This year’s Walk the Talk includes the 20km walk to celebrate 20 years of democracy. The route will take walkers past key city landmarks including Constitutional Hill and the Mandela Bridge in Braamfontein.
ROAD CLOSURES
Roads will be closed from 4am until 2pm and the Johannesburg Metro Police will be on hand to direct traffic on the day. Judith Road will be closed for traffic from Beyers Naude Drive to Barry Hertzog Avenue from 4am to 2pm.
The roads below will be closed between the following times:
5km and 8km walk
- 4am – 2pm Judith Rd from Beyers Naude Dr to Barry Hertzog Ave
- 4am – 1pm Niger Rd from Judith Rd to Sabie Rd
- 4am – 1pm Sabie Rd from Hill Rd to Barry Hertzog Rd
- 4am – 1pm Rustenburg Rd from Sabie Rd to Carlow Rd
- 6am – 1pm Carlow Rd from Rustenburg Rd to Mayo Rd
- 8am – 1pm Emmarentia Ave from Carlow Rd to Gleneagles Rd
- 8am – 1pm Gleneagles Rd from Donegal Rd to Geers Ave
- 8am – 1pm Geers Ave from Gleneagles Rd to Haven Rd
- 8am – 1pm Haven Road from Geers Ave to Hoylake Rd
- 8am – 1pm Hoylake Road from Haven Rd to Clovelly Rd
- 8am – 1pm Clovelly Rd from Hoylake Rd to Troon Rd
- 10am – 1pm Wicklow Ave from Emmarentia Rd to Troon Rd
- 10am – 1pm Troon Rd from Greenside Rd to Orange Rd
- 4am – 1.30pm Orange Rd from Troon Rd to Gambia Rd
- 4am – 1.30pm Greenhill Rd from Barry Hertzog Rd to Orange Rd
- 4am – 1.30pm Umgeni Rd from Barry Hertzog Rd to Orange Rd
- 8am – 12pm Westcliff Ave from Loch Ave to Carlow Road
20km Walk for Democracy
- 4am – 2pm Judith Rd from Beyers Naude Dr to Barry Hertzog Ave
- 4am – 1pm Niger Rd from Judith Rd to Sabie Rd
- 4am – 1pm Sabie Rd from Hill Rd to Barry Hertzog Ave
- 4am – 1pm Rustenburg Rd from Sabie Rd to 8th Ave
- 6am – 1pm Barry Hertzog Ave from Empire Rd to Dale Lace Park
- 6am – 10am Wits 1st Year Parking Gate from Empire to Station Str
- 6.15am – 10.15am Bertha Str from Jorissen Str to the Nelson Mandela Bridge
- 6.15am – 10.30am Carr Str from the Nelson Mandela Bridge to Queen Elizabeth Str
- 6.15am – 10.30am Queen Elizabeth Str from Carr Str to Jorissen Str
- 6.30am – 10.30am Jorissen Str from Station Str to Rissik Str
- 6.30am – 11am Joubert Str from De Korte Str to Empire Rd
- 7am – 11.30am Oxford Rd from Empire Rd to Sherwood Rd (Contraflow on Southbound)
- 7am – 12pm Darnaway Rd from Sherwood Rd to Waltham Rd
- 7.30am – 12.15pm Restanwold Dr from Waltham Rd to Eastwold Way
- 7am – 12.15pm Eastwold Way from Restanwold Dr to Upper Park Dr
- 7am – 12.15pm Saxonwold Dr from Erlswold Ave to Lystanwold Rd
- 7am – 12.15pm Lystanwold Rd from Saxonwold Dr to Avonwold Rd
- 7.15am – 12.15pm Princess of Wales Dr from Jan Smuts Ave to Lower Park Drive
- 7.15am – 12.30pm Kerry Rd from Lower Park Dr to Mayo Rd
- 8am- 12.45pm Carlow Rd from Mayo Rd to Westcliff Dr
- 6am – 12.45pm Westcliff Dr from Wexford Ave to The Valley Rd
- 7.30am – 12.45pm Lawrence Rd from The Valley Rd to Hillcrest Rd
- 8am – 12.45pm Hillcrest Rd from Westcliff Dr to Dale Lace Park
- 6am – 1pm Barry Hertzog Ave from Dale Lace Park to Umgeni Rd
- 4am – 1pm Umgeni Rd from Barry Hertzog Ave to Orange Rd
- 4am – 1.30pm Orange Rd from Umgeni Rd to Marks Park Sports Club
PARK-AND-RIDE FACILITIES
To help alleviate the traffic around the event area, there will be park-and-ride facilities from locations around Joburg. Motorists are encouraged to leave their cars and take the bus in the following areas:
- Cedar Square – Cedar Road entrance, pick-up opposite Builders Express
- Cresta Shopping Centre – Pick-up opposite entrance 3
- Eastgate Shopping Centre – Pick-up at the Shell Garage opposite entrance 4
- Melrose Arch – Corner of Melrose Boulevard and Crescent Drive, pick-up opposite @home.
- Nasrec – pick-up outside gates 1 and 2
- Sandton – pick-up at corner of Rivonia Road and West Street. Passengers can park at Sandton City.
The cost of the return trip by bus is R80 per person. The first bus will depart from the park-and-ride facilities at 5am for the 6.30am start time. Thereafter, buses will depart every 30 minutes or when the bus is full.