Nairobi County is redesigning five key roads to create cycling lanes and pedestrian walkways aimed at improving urban mobility.
County acting Director of Transport Moses Kuiyaki said the project targets Latema Road, Kenneth Matiba Road (formerly Accra Road), Race Course Road, Tom Mboya Road and Ronald Ngala Street.
Already the marking of cycling lanes has started along River Road.
A desk has been placed at Luthuli Avenue where various transport stakeholders are collecting views from city residents on the project.
"The idea is to reclaim lower CBD (central business district) streets and make them non-motorised transport friendly and safer for everyone in Nairobi since the city is not only for vehicles but everybody should get a share of those streets," said Kuiyaki.
The county acting Director of Transport said the River Road cycling lane will join the Race Course Road lanes, which joins a Bus Rapid Transport Lane on Juja Road before joining Thika Road on the lower side.
Kuiyaki announced that they will only allow the loading and offloading of goods along River Road at specific spaces on pedestrian walkways.
There will be no parking of vehicles in the designated areas as is currently the case.
The UN-Habitat, University of Nairobi, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Just City and International Transport Workers Fenestration (ITF) are supporting the project of making the city friendly to all users.
"UN-Habitat is partnering with the Nairobi City County in offering financial and technical support in designs by preparing different scenarios on how cycling lanes, walkways and street vending could look like," said Cecilia Anderson, lead, of the sustainable Urban Mobility Team at UN-Habitat.
"We are getting different ideas here from all stakeholders after engaging with matatu operators, pedestrians among others on how they want the city to be," she added.
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Programme Coordinator Vivienne Kigondu said they researched what a socially just public transport needs to have and came up with five pillars of available, inclusive, sustainable, accessible and affordable, human rights and equity.
"We are therefore asking the Nairobi County that as they come up with plans to improve public transport, it should have the five pillars," she said.
