But yesterday, residents of Grassy Park braved the rain to "zen-out" in the street.

The City of Cape Town closed a section of Victoria Road to launch its "Open Streets for Cape Town" campaign to encourage residents to enjoy public spaces.

"We use October, which is Transport Month, to raise public awareness about transport-related issues and to promote the use of public transport and non-motorised transport," said Brett Herron, mayoral committee member for transport, roads and stormwater.

The Open Streets campaign involves closing public streets to vehicles.

Locals yesterday brought their bicycles for "tuning and advice", received cycle safety training, and attended Zumba and skateboard classes.

It is estimated that more than 3000 residents participated in yesterday's events.

"[We want to find] ways of embedding car-free streets in the culture and structure of our city, such as by declaring certain streets car-free on Sundays and encouraging people to use the space on a regular and continuing basis," said Herron.