By Dr. SM
Mureithi
 |
| Photo Courtesy of BikeNoob.com |
I am definitely not a morose, but in January, 2013, I
was very saddened by some news that I read in the Daily Nation, that ‘A
woman lost her life in Kawangware after being pushed out of a moving bus’ actually
because of KShs. 10. I felt very sad. What a loss of a soul; somebody’s
daughter, a wife, a mother. Maybe she was a single parent and her children were
waiting for her to return with food the whole day. Maybe she was going for a
job interview, who knows.
What makes me even sadder even today is the fact that
there are millions of Nairobi residents (hereafter referred to as Nairobians) who
cannot afford a decent life, leave alone have enough for transport. Nairobi had
a population of about 3.1 million according to year 2009 population census. It
has been estimated that about 60% of the Nairobians, live in the slums. About
85% of these live under a dollar a day, and are jobless. Now I hope you start
getting the picture of why one can board a matatu (privately-operated mini-vans
and buses, referred as ‘public’ transport in Kenya) without enough fare, or
walk like many do. It is normal for Nairobians.
Nairobi as a city was designed by the British
colonial masters as their capital for the British East Africa in 1907, and it
eventually became the capital of a free Kenyan republic in 1963. The roads were
designed to suit their need for that time, only for motor vehicles, that we
refer simply as cars. Any other road-user was not foreseen, be it a walker, a
jogger or a cyclist.
Let us excuse the colonial city planners for now.
That was their time. But do not be fooled, in Britain, cycling is the order of
the day. Fast forward Nairobi to 2013, we are probably over 4 million of us.
The question is how we can share the road that was designed for only a few cars
passing there in a day. It is absurd to have ‘roads just for cars’ while over
80% of the city residents do not drive. This is a policy, planning and a
visionary issue.
Let’s go back to the soul we lost in Kawangware. Had
that lady been cycling alongside that matatu, would she have lost her life? I
guess not. May be she would have saved the Kshs. 30 she already paid the
conductor before she was thrown out for lack of a 10 bob. She would also most
likely be enjoying good health emanating from the cycling physical exercise. Thirdly,
she would be free - from embarrassment, harassment, abuse and security risk
experienced by matatu passengers at times. Free from being tossed from a moving
bus to her untimely death.
I know all the Nairobians, and especially the poor in
the slums, those struggling to balance their budgets and the lower-middle class
living with more month than money understand this. I urge you to talk to your
leaders about the need you have for ‘walking and cycling infrastructure’ in
Nairobi Metropolitan. Nairobians want to save, live healthier lives and be free.
Lately, we are experiencing very notorious traffic
congestion in all the major roads in the city. The promise of jam free city
with the completion of the Thika Super-Highway, creation of By-passes and other
links has evaporated. Why is this? We build the road for cars, and as a result,
we have more of them in the road. Business-as-usual (BAU) will significantly
enlarge vehicle fleets and exacerbate their costs to society.
I also call upon all the authorities in charge of our
city roads (Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Nairobi City County
Government, Kenya Roads Board, Kenya Urban Roads Authority –KURA, The Kenya
Police Service, and our elected leaders – the Governor, Senator, Women
Representative, MPs and County Representatives) and any other stakeholders and
development partners to take this into consideration for the sake of the urban-poor
in Nairobi. The more easily and cheaper people can move, the more they can do
business, work, develop themselves, and get out of poverty.
We need to in fact include ‘walking and cycling
infrastructure’ in all the current and proposed projects in the Nairobi
Metropolitan. I am very encouraged to see this has been done along the Thika
Super Highway and in the upgraded Kileleshwa Roads. However, the walking and
cycling infrastructure are still not fully functional as they lack safety in
the junctions and roundabouts. We need to do it having the ‘departure and destination
of the cyclist in mind, including safe passage on junctions, roundabouts and
cross-sections’. We also need to overhaul the Highway Code to include human
powered vehicles (HPVs), basically, bicycles. This should be included in the driving
schools curricula too.
Therefore,
this is a call to ‘share the road in Nairobi’, for the following main reasons:
First, poverty alleviation – the urban poor
spend at least 30% of their meagre income on transport. Walking and cycling
infrastructure will empower the poor Nairobians through bus-fare savings and
boosting their dignity as a result of the ability to maneuver around the city
without being dependent on matatus for transport. For instance, when it rains
in Nairobi, fares of most popular routes at times spike up to more than double.
For people living on less than a dollar a day, or on a minimal wage, this is
simply not affordable and they have to walk to work or back. A bicycle would be
a welcome alternative that majority of such people would not hesitate to
acquire, even on loans, as long as there is enabling infrastructure. Indeed,
such an agenda should be part of the Kenya’s Vision 2030 for all Cities and
County Headquarters. New cities like Tatu City and Konza Technology City should
out rightly include these infrastructures in their designs and plans, if they
have not done so. This proposal is therefore, in tandem with the current’s
government policy of reducing the cost of living especially for the poor
Kenyans, Kenya’s Vision 2030 and the Millennium Development Goals.
Second, a healthier population - the physical
exercise gained from cycling is generally linked with increased health and
well-being. According to the World Health Organization, physical inactivity is
second only to tobacco smoking as a health risk in developed countries, and
this is associated with many tens of billions of dollars of healthcare costs.
The WHO suggests that increasing physical activity is a public health 'best
buy', and that cycling (and walking of course) is a 'highly suitable activity'
for this purpose.
Third, employment creation – think of local
contractors winning the walking, cycling and bicycle-parking infrastructure tenders,
investors supplying the cycling gears and accessories, bicycle-for-hire
businesses, bicycle repair shops on various routes, biking schools, ease of
people movements, petty errands on bicycle, among others.
Fourthly, alleviation to chronic traffic
congestion problem in the city – if the city residents are provided with
functional and safe walking and cycling infrastructure, many would opt to walk
and cycle rather than drive and be stuck in the crazy Nairobi jams for hours. I
have witnessed this work in Ghent City in Belgium where I lived for four years.
In all that time, bicycle was my main means of transport. I only needed to use
a bus or a train when going far out of the city.
Fifth, promotion of sport industry especially
for the youth – Development of functional walking and cycling infrastructure
will encourage many youth to enter into cycling sport, which can also employ
many. A safe well maintained cycle track from Nairobi to Nakuru is an ideal
training and practice ground. For long distance, it does not have to be on both
sides of the highway, unless it is a dual-carriage way.
Six, reduced road accidents and improved
access to markets and other essential facilities – hence boosting the individual
household, county as well as the national economy.
Seven, as we confront on the global and local problem
of climate change, we need to act collectively as well as individually
in order to reduce our net and per-capita carbon foot-print,
respectively.
Therefore, a three-pronged investment strategy is
needed to transform the city transportation sector: promote access instead of
mobility; shift to less harmful modes of transportation; and improve vehicles
towards lower carbon intensity and pollution. A fundamental shift in investment
patterns is needed towards public (rail transport in Kenya) transport and
non-motorised transport, based on the principles of avoiding or reducing trips
though integrating land use and transport planning and enabling more localized
production and consumption. Shifting
to more environmentally efficient modes such as public and non-motorised
transport (for passenger transport) and to rail and water transport if
recommended by UNEP. Investment in public transport infrastructure that
promotes walking and cycling generates jobs, improves well-being and can add
considerable value to regional and national economy.
Please give me safe and functional walking and cycling
infrastructure (including parking) in Nairobi and I’ll leave my car at home,
save fuel, time and money, enjoy the cycling exercise and emit much less carbon
than I am doing today driving daily around the city. Cycling is enjoyable,
safe, healthy, clean, cheaper hence sustainable. It is the high time we embrace
it and drop the BAU thinking that builds roads for cars instead of for people!
References:
The writer is a Lecturer in Land Resource Management at
the University of Nairobi. He can be reached at stemureithi@uonbi.ac.ke
Posts
