Thursday, June 30, 2011

Steepest Street: Low-Down

OK, my new hobby (namely, discovering Cape Town's steepest street) is fast running out of steam. I don't know if I have any more streets to explore. I've put paid to a few myths anyway: the myth-makers have had Bellevue Street, Gallows Hill, Head Road, and Longmarket Street down as the steepest in the city. The first two of these are easily ruled out (a mere 10½° and 11½° steep). Head Road has a section that is 17° steep, while Longmarket Street has a "sustained slope" of 17° (thus matching the steepest of San Francisco). The only other "sustained slopes" that come close to Longmarket Street are Fontaine Bleu Street (16½°) and Upper Deane Road (16°). However, Top Road has a section that is 17½° steep, and Clifford Road has a section that is 19° steep. OBSERVATION: Yet what is a "sustained slope"? Even the official world record holder, Baldwin Street, Dunedin, is 19° steep only "at its maximum". The photo shows my three-wheeler parked in Longmarket Street (click on it for VGA).

8 comments:

Stephen said...

Just curious: Were these inclines assessed by the angle of depression of the exhilarator pedal.

Thomas O. Scarborough said...

Or by the whiteness of the driver's knuckles. Someone asked me, do you have to MURDER your poor vehicle so? Interestingly, it has one pedal, six levers, and a throttle.

Anonymous said...

What about Bloem? Capri in Kalk Bay is pretty crazy too...

Anonymous said...

Yes! Please check out Capri St in St James? It's crazy! Altitude difference based on a topographic map is around 70m, attained in around 200m horizontally.

Thomas O. Scarborough said...

This would need to be confirmed. If you are correct, this is (if my calculations are correct) a new world record of 19.5° sustained slope.

Unknown said...

Can I suggest Marais Rd in Hout Bay

Thomas O. Scarborough said...

If you get a chance, take a photo of a vertical wall with the street level. It's easy to get some idea then of the angle and if it's worth taking a closer look. Some streets are not what they seem. A few people suggested Bellevue Street as Cape Town's steepest, but that was (I think) only 10°. A few people suggested Top Road, but only a small section of that was 17½° ...

Agi Orfanos said...

Ffordd Pen Leich in WALES today On BBC
37° gradient is steepest in world.
Can you investigate