Today's article was submitted by a brilliant young professional who believes, in his own words, that we can change the narrative for Africa. He is a graduate urban planner with a strong focus on Entrepreneurship, Transport, Housing and Agriculture. Enjoy!
Understanding Nairobi Traffic
In recent years, Kenya has had an influx of rural-urban migration leading to congested urban areas with Nairobi taking up the largest share. The dream of formal employment and a Pandora’s Box for entrepreneurship opportunities has made Nairobi the city of dreams for many but also a nightmare in equal measure.
Nairobi is said to control more than 30% of Kenya’s GDP and also hosts majority of civil servants, industrial workers and informal workers; all of whom need to move everyday between work and home. This movement has resulted in Nairobi having one of the worst traffic jams in the world. Actually, it is only second to Mumbai in India. http://kenyanwallstreet.com/nairobi-traffic-ranked-2nd-worst-world
Let’s try to broadly look at some of issues that may be causing all this traffic.
Matatu Menace
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| Unplanned matatu terminus Credits: Courtesy |
As the leading public transport providers in Nairobi, Matatus provide cheap movement for hundreds of thousands of Nairobi residents. With this sustained demand for cheap public transport, the Matatu industry has proved to be one of the most profitable businesses in Nairobi while creating thousands of employment opportunities especially for the youth. However, due to years of poor policies in planning and enforcement, it has morphed into a cartel-led industry with inefficient termini, routes and bus stops. Almost all Matatu routes in Nairobi terminate in the Central Business District, effectively ‘dumping’ thousands of commuters in undesignated termini within the CBD.
The mass movement of commuters to and from these termini coupled with inadequate side-walks, leads to congested streets and hampers smooth flow of motorized traffic. To maximize their profits, once in the CBD, these Matatus queue on the streets waiting for passengers for their return trip thus consuming available carriageway for both non-motorized and motorized traffic.
Hawkers Paradise
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| Hawkers in Nairobi. Credits: Odipo Riaga |
Heavy movement of commuters to and from various termini within the CBD has created an endless supply of human traffic; a supply which hawkers are cashing on relentlessly.
The allure of hawking stems from numerous shared cases of people making astronomical profits from even the most mundane of wears. Poor enforcement from authorities has led to thousands of hawkers taking up almost all open spaces and side-walks within the CBD with those close to major termini being the worst hit. This illegal occupation directly hampers pedestrian movement on the side-walks leaving a majority to use the main carriageway which disrupts flow of motorized traffic.
Parking Cartels
Increased private vehicle ownership driven by an emerging middle class has resulted in soaring demand of parking space which is completely outstripped by supply. This demand has over the years presented a stable revenue stream for the local authority but has never been fully realized.
Corruption is the major culprit here as neither the daily collection revenues nor individual parking fees reach their intended beneficiaries. With current daily parking rates at Ksh 300, most Nairobi residents prefer to pay illegal ‘parking boys’ who guarantee the safety of the vehicle and collude with official parking attendants who also cash in illegally. Without a dependable audit of parking spaces and an efficient parking system, motorists often loop around the CBD for extended periods of time searching for parking spots. This in turn creates unnecessary clogging of streets and hampers smooth flow of traffic.
What do you think are the causes of Nairobi’s Traffic Jams? What are the possible solutions? Let’s engage more as Urban Planners and residents of Nairobi to practically understand these issues and come up with informed and sustainable solutions!
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| Leonard Irungu | Urban Planner | Entrepreneur | Contributor: Let's Plan Kenya blog 21/06/17 |