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{
    "id": 583628,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/583628/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 272,
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "I want to assure Sen. Sang that even from where I live; sometimes it takes hours to get to the city centre. The congestion is all over the city. I do not think that there is any area that is spared. I encourage him to work hard as a young man, that when he gets to my age, he will live in those areas. It did not come overnight. When I got married, my first home was in Makadara. So, you can see where we started. I am sure that you will also get where you want to go. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Nairobi and many other cities--- I have been to Mombasa and I have seen the same problem. It becomes very difficult to drive in Nairobi, especially during rush hours. I have heard of people who have missed their international flights because they could not get to the airport on time. We have reached a stage where something must be done. I remember that the late Sen. Mutula Kilonzo had come up with a comprehensive plan on how to solve traffic congestion in this city. Together with Sen. Ongoro, who was the Assistant Minister, they visited several cities to see how best to go about this problem. I am sure all those plans are still intact somewhere. We do not have to always reinvent the wheel. That another team has to visit Singapore, Dubai or another big city to see how it is done. For example, we can utilize the plans which were developed by the late Sen. Mutula Kilonzo when he was the Minister in that sector. In addition, there have been other studies. I congratulate the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, formerly Ministry of Roads. We have seen what they have done. They have tried to give this city a facelift. For example, the Thika Superhighway is a success story but it is now congested. People now complain that they cannot make it to the city on time; sometimes they spend two or three hours depending on what time they left Githurai and Ruiru areas. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is quite clear that with those efforts, although there are some good results, we still need to do more. I encourage Governor Kidero as well as the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure to work together and come up with a way to solve this problem. Some of the areas that we feel need real attention are the roundabouts. They cause more congestion and chaos than solving the traffic problem. We have seen in other cities that there are no roundabouts anymore. They have roads on top of other roads. I believe that if we construct bypasses we will solve this problem. We can also copy what other big cities are doing. They have just as heavy traffic, some of them even much more than we have. Although during rush hour, they still have traffic, but not the kind that we experience in Nairobi. Although highways are the responsibility of the national Government, but then, the responsibility of some urban roads falls within the county. So, there is need to work together so that we can solve this problem. As we have seen in big cities, we welcome the one way street which is being introduced. I believe that it will help to solve a bit of the problem. We need to develop good public transport in the cities. That is what the late Sen. Mutula Kilonzo was working on. We have seen that the development of the train services has started. It is true that we all cannot fit on these roads. When there is proper and organized public transport, people leave their vehicles on the outskirts of the city and jump on the organized tram or any mode of transport and The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}