Highways and urban streets bear brunt of impunity in Central

A trader displays some building material on a road reserve in Kutus town,Kirinyaga County in total disregard of the highway code leaving motorists exposed to danger since there is no room for escape in the event of an eventuality. (Photo: Munene Kamau/Standard)

One of the pedestrian walkways along Thika Road is used to display furniture.

A multi-storey commercial building sits on a road reserve at a busy intersection of two major roads in Gatanga. Elsewhere, hawkers have encroached on land reserved for busy highways.

This is the impunity that has turned roads into death-traps throughout Central region.

In Kiambu County, traders have taken up vast swathes of road space, especially the room left for pedestrians and non-motorised users.

At the Githurai interchange on Thika Road in Ruiru sub-county, furniture is displayed on the pedestrian walkway of Thika Road, forcing users to walk on the busy and dangerous service lane. The same is replicated at Ruiru pedestrian bridge, which hawkers have reduced to a narrow path. The situation is the same at Kimbo (Ruiru) and Kenyatta Road interchanges.

Thika town was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the World Bank-funded Kenya Municipal Infrastructure Improvement Project (KMIIP) in the Nairobi metropolitan area. But motorcyclists have elbowed out pedestrians from paved walkways to beat the town's irritating traffic jam.

On Haile Selassie Avenue between Murang'a Farmers Co-operative Union building and Chania river bridge near Blue Post Hotel, motorcyclists trying to beat traffic jam have little regard for children who use the paved walkway for roller-skating. A disaster is waiting to happen here.

The section of the paved walkway between Gatumaini Primary School and Family Care Clinic on Workshop Road has been converted into a Mang'u route's matatu parking zone.

In Murang'a, even after the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) marked buildings on some of the roads for demolition, they have remained intact.

Five years ago, traders at Kariua market in Kandara were forced to reduce the size of the canopy at their premises after they were found to have had intruded into the road reserve.

Another potential threat lies at Karuri market along the busy Murang'a-Kangema road.

Although no road accident has ever occurred here, experts view it as a danger and have recommended that it be re-designed.

Major markets like Kenol, Kiria-ini and Kangari have been listed as hazards to motorists as the traders operate on the roadsides, where scores have been injured. Roads in the rural areas have been termed a  nightmare by motorists. Residents have erected bumps in reaction to cases of residents being knocked down by speeding motorcycles and vehicles.

In Kirinyaga, traders in towns and markets dissected by highways have caused havoc to motorists after illegally establishing business enterprises on road reserves.

The most affected areas are Kutus, Ngurubani, Kagio, Kerugoya, Kianyaga and Kiamutugu markets.

KeNHA Mt Kenya Region manager Joseph Kaburi accused some leaders of inciting residents who live along the roads to erect illegal bumps, which endanger motorists.

"Bumps have been erected using huge stones covered with some soil, leaving unsuspecting motorists exposed," he said.

Report by Wainaina Ndung'u, Boniface Gikandi and Munene Kamau