What on earth is happening in Dorp Street? 👀

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If you've driven past the bottom of Dorp Street recently, you've probably had the same thought as the rest of Stellenbosch:

What on earth are they doing there?

The answer: quite a lot.

Lower Dorp Street is getting a major upgrade, including a second carriageway, redesigned intersections, new water and sewer infrastructure, proper pedestrian walkways, cycling infrastructure and more than 100 new trees.

And opposite the Rupert Museum, a new three-storey development called Van Rijn Meent is being built, with restaurants, shops, offices, short-stay accommodation and a new public square.

So basically, they're giving that whole entrance to Stellenbosch a rather serious makeover.

The good news? The roadworks are expected to be completed by February 2027, and the new road, pavements, trees and cycling infrastructure will ultimately belong to Stellenbosch Municipality.

The bad news?

We have to survive the roadworks until February.

Which, in Stellenbosch traffic years, is approximately 14 years.

But at least now, when you're sitting at the R44 wondering why nobody is moving, you know what they're building. 😅

There is a growing hazard on the streets of Stellenbosch.

Students with phones.

Headphones in. Eyes down. Absolutely no idea what continent they're currently walking on.

They'll step into Dorp Street without looking, suddenly change direction halfway across a road, or walk directly towards you while watching a 14-part TikTok series on how to become financially independent by 23.

Cars? Never heard of them.

Traffic lights? Decorative.

Looking left and right? Something their parents used to do.

There could be a truck, three cyclists and a small municipal construction project approaching and they'll stroll across the road with the confidence of a Springbok running onto Ellis Park.

The remarkable thing is that thousands of them make it to graduation.

So please drive carefully around Stellenbosch.

You might be watching the road, but there's a very good chance they aren't. 😂

We received an interesting question from a reader this week:

Why do some children who live in Stellenbosch struggle to get into local schools, while every morning we see buses bringing children into Stellenbosch from surrounding towns and communities?

It's a fair question, but probably one with a more complicated answer than it first appears.

How much does where you live actually count when applying to a Stellenbosch school? Do schools have defined catchment areas? Are some places reserved for particular feeder schools? And why might a child living a few kilometres from a school be unsuccessful while another travelling much further gets a place?

Rather than speculate, we'd like to understand how the system actually works.

So we're going to do some digging.

If you're a parent, teacher or someone involved in school admissions who understands how this works, we'd love to hear from you.

We have a completely unscientific theory that we are nevertheless prepared to defend strongly:

Stellenbosch traffic is directly linked to whether the students are in town.

University holiday? You glide through town like it's 1997.

Students return? Suddenly it takes 23 minutes to travel 1.8km and every second parking bay contains a Polo Vivo.

Which got us thinking.

What if first-year students simply weren't allowed to bring cars to Stellenbosch?

Before the first-years start drafting angry emails, hear us out.

Stellenbosch is small. Campus is walkable. There are bicycles. There are shuttles. And based on our previous observations, many students already cross roads without acknowledging the existence of cars anyway.

Imagine thousands fewer vehicles competing for parking and clogging up the centre of town.

It might be completely impractical.

It might be deeply unpopular.

But somewhere, sitting motionless in traffic on Merriman Avenue, there's a Stellenboscher reading this and whispering:

"Let the man cook." 😂

Maybe the person you need to stop disappointing is yourself.

We make little promises to ourselves all the time.

I'll exercise tomorrow.
I'll put my phone down around the kids.
I'll stop losing my temper over stupid things.
I'll make more time for the people I love.
I'll finally do that thing I've been talking about.

And then we don't.

Do that often enough and eventually you stop trusting yourself.

Self-respect isn't built through big speeches or dramatic changes. It's built quietly.

Do what you said you'd do.
Control your temper.
Make the call.
Put the phone away.
Be present.
Keep the promises nobody else knows you made.

At the end of all this, you have to live with the person you've become.

Become someone you respect.

🌤️ Friday: 21°C / 13°C
Cloudy to start, but brightening up as the day goes on. A pleasant end to the week.

🌧️ Saturday: 18°C / 10°C
Grey and overcast with rain and drizzle developing in the afternoon. Good day to find a fireplace and cancel ambitious outdoor plans.

🌤️ Sunday: 18°C / 8°C
Clouds clearing to sunshine, although it could get a little breezy in the afternoon. Chilly start.

☀️ Monday: 18°C / 8°C
Mostly dry with long sunny spells. Cold morning, lovely once the sun gets going.

🌤️ Tuesday: 19°C / 12°C
A mix of sunshine and cloud and looking dry for the start of September.

The quick take: Saturday looks like the dud of the bunch 🌧️, but from Sunday onwards things improve nicely. Keep the jacket nearby though. Winter hasn't quite handed back the keys yet.

As always, thanks for reading. If you spot something in town worth knowing, reply and tell us. Half the best Stellenbosch stories begin that way.

See you around town,
Stellenbosch Brief

If you know someone in Stellenbosch who would appreciate this, feel free to forward it to them. The right readers tend to find each other.