Here’s why ‘Kidero grass’ will grow

A section of Uhuru Highway at the University of Nairobi undergoes beautification on 17th July 2015. PHOTO:WILBERFORCE OKWIRI/STANDARD

NAIROBI: The last few weeks have been very interesting for those of us that are interested in matters landscape, its design and construction.

The Nairobi City County undertook an ambitious project to upgrade eight kilometres of Uhuru Highway and Mombasa Road median from Capital Centre to Museum Hill ostensibly before the visit by American President Barack Obama.

Kenyans on Twitter otherwise known as #KOT quickly caught on to the impracticality and soon #KideroGrass was trending on social media.

 JOKES

The jokes, memes and mockery around the hashtag went on for days and left us in stitches. One person offered to donate spray cans to paint the median green.

Still another suggested that the county should buy a pair of green goggles for the visiting head of state and insist that he wears them as part of our traditional practices.

Even President Uhuru Kenyatta couldn’t resist throwing in an ice-breaker by jokingly reassuring Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero that the grass will finally grow.

THE GRASS WILL GROW

Amidst this talk, more serious issues got blurred. While the timing was obviously influenced by the coming of President Obama and the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, the project is better thought through than many of the previous efforts. Indeed the grass will grow. If the sole goal was to impress the visitors, then the people behind the project failed. I, however, doubt this was the case.

Going by the design, the choice of lawn and the effort to protect the median from pedestrian and motorbike traffic, it is clear that the county had some long-term objectives.

PROFESSIONALISM

For the first time, we saw some professionalism in the way the works were carried out. First, there is obviously some kind of design being followed.

I must commend the county government for this. It may not be perfect, but it is a step in the right direction. Green spaces, just like roads and buildings, need to be designed first if they are to function effectively and look beautiful.

The execution of the works has also been a huge departure from the mediocrity we have seen in the past. In just a few weeks, we have seen the median transform massively.

As is the nature of landscape projects, the results may not show at their best immediately, but in a few months the county government will be vindicated.

Of course there is room for improvement. Landscape design should have been integrated with engineering design for the carriageway itself, storm drainage, design for street lighting and furniture, pavements and footpaths as well as utility lines and services.

If such an approach would be taken, the results would work and look much better for years to come.

MAINTENANCE

The biggest concern, however, is the ability and commitment of the county government to maintain the works in the long-term.

A strict maintenance regime must be put in place immediately if the project is to attain and maintain desirable standards.

A sense of ownership would also go a long way in making the project a success. It is sad that majority of us view the project as Kidero’s project.

If more Nairobians viewed public space projects such as these as belonging to themselves, then we would not vandalise, trample on or destroy them as soon as they are open for use.