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"id": 394763,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/394763/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Zani",
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"speaker": {
"id": 13119,
"legal_name": "Agnes Zani",
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"content": "cover. I remember recently when we were coming from one of the committee trips, we actually got caught up in a jam along Waiyaki Way, where we spent nearly one hour that we would have probably spent well in the county where we were. So, even in terms of planning, people think about when to go, how to go quickly so that they actually avoid the jam, and I think it is very, very serious for this particular country. Madam Temporary Speaker, it also has other implications on the broader social arena; parents are not able to get home on time to do their parenting roles, to help with homework and to assist their young ones. There is a lot of tension as well that comes as a result of that, and it creates a really bad situation. Madam Temporary Speaker, we have already looked at the factors that cause this problem but, again, they are not excuses because population growth is given and guaranteed in any country. In 1963, the urban population for Nairobi was about 350,000; it has risen to 3.3 million without a planning mechanism put into place to ensure that these people are really catered for. A lot of work has gone on in the last few years in terms of building bypasses and tarmacking the roads that are there, but again sometimes I feel it is an exercise in futility. No sooner has a road been expanded that, immediately thereafter, there is a snarl up and a traffic jam. So, I think in terms of strategy to really come up with a way of addressing this problem, we need to go further and find a solution to this problem. Madam Temporary Speaker, traffic volumes have been documented to be very, very high. Jogoo Road has the highest traffic volume at 87,000 cars per day; Waiyaki Way has a volume of 49,000 and in between, there are variations across Thika Road and Langata Road. If everybody’s dream is to buy a car or to come into town with their own car, we will continue to have this problem for a long time. Other initiatives that should be put in place to address these problems are digital lights. I witnessed an accident yesterday when cars tried to move after the lights had turned green. The lights were indicating green, but the cars coming from the opposite lane started moving. As you know, here in Nairobi, what matters most is how aggressive you are. Traffic lights do not help and at times we have traffic lights and policemen as well. We do not know whether that is easing or compounding the problem. That makes it very difficult. We end up in a situation where there is a disaster. It is a pity when you find an ambulance trying to move in between lanes and at times people do not give way. Fire fighting vehicles find it very difficult to find their way to where they want to get to. Locomotives get stranded and that becomes very dangerous. Sometimes, you will find them using the wrong lanes rather than use their lanes. They move to the opposite side of the oncoming vehicles. I think they are very good drivers because I hardly see them causing accidents. However, they create quite a scenario for problems. There are solutions that other countries have used and, probably, this country could go into. These are systems like mass transit systems where you have park and ride systems. This is where you go and reach a particular spot and get into a public vehicle that is properly manned. There are also other ways like walking and riding that have worked for many developed countries. However, in all this, we need to have discipline and the need to change. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}