Why transporters should embrace new traffic guidelines

By Henry Kimoli

Kenya: In the past, the private sector has complained over delays in transporting their merchandise through the Northern Corridor.

The delays are attributed to various challenges faced by several Government agencies from  the Port of Mombasa all the way to Busia.

However, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure has recently put in place measures reduce turnaround time along the Corridor.

Among these is the issuance of new traffic guidelines along the corridor targeting areas known to impede movement of vehicular traffic.

Banned parking

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), in pursuant to sub clause 4(2)(f) of the Kenya Roads Act 2007, issued the guidelines that took effect on July 1 this year.

They banned parking or waiting by all heavy commercial areas at Makupa roundabout, Kibarani and Changamwe.

 According to the new guidelines as published, all heavy goods vehicles headed to Changamwe Road About from Mombasa island should only use the left lane and should not overtake.

The well thought out guidelines are aimed at easing congestion on the Changamwe-Moi International Airport road, while giving lorries and trucks leverage to continue with their journey to Nairobi and other up-country routes.

Less than two weeks later, some people are already complaining about the situation, and are already pointing fingers in a bid to apportion blame. While citizens have every right to express their opinion on any issue, the timing of this  particular matter appears suspect.

In the first place, the new traffic guidelines are less than two weeks old. The road users are still trying to familiarise themselves with the new rules.

In such situations, a few challenges are bound to  pop up. But rather than apportion blame, as is always the case in this country, the prudent thing to do is to suggest possible areas of improvement.

The Changamwe area is a case in point. Many times, several airlines operating at Moi International Airport in Mombasa have had to delay flights by more than six hours after their customers failed to arrive on time.

Reason? Their customers being stranded in long traffic jams around Changamwe, Makupa Cause way and Kibarani.

The new rules as published are sure to provide a solution to this. But we need to be patient if we are to benefit from these new guidelines.

Teething problems associated with any new guidelines cannot be reason enough to dismiss a good idea that will add value to the movement of goods and population in the areas identified.

It is high time that the police, Kenya Transporters Association, Kenya Consumers Federation and other stakeholders joined hands to iron out whatever challenges that may impede the implementation of these guidelines.

There are other prudent avenues of addressing bottlenecks other than derailing guidelines that add value to our transportation chain.

The writer is a journalist who comments on infrastructure policy