Footbridges too far, say Mombasa Road pedestrians

Pedestrians along Mombasa Road in Nairobi feel that the government’s advice to use footbridges and pedestrian crossings does not consider their needs.

Nation Newsplex spent time on Mombasa Road on December 5, 2015 and spoke to pedestrians along the way to find out what they thought about safety on the road. Pedestrians complained that it was unrealistic to expect them to walk distances of up to two kilometres in order to cross the road using a flyover.

Mombasa Road is the deadliest of all the major roads in Nairobi. From January to November this year, it accounted for 65 deaths, 45 (69 per cent) of which were pedestrians.

The next deadliest was Thika Road with 50 deaths, followed by Waiyaki Way at 45. Other roads include the Eastern Bypass at 31 deaths, the Northern Bypass and Kangundo Road at 27 deaths each, North Airport Road at 12 deaths and the Southern bypass at 15 deaths.

“I cross the road nearly every day because my work is just here.”

According to the National Transportation and Safety Authority (NTSA), pedestrians on Mombasa Road have been knocked down at Bellevue, Enterprise Road, Panari, Standard Group, Enterprise Road, Imara Daima, Cabanas and the Airtel area over the course of this year. However, the NTSA did not provide data for individual crashes at these sites.

Nation walked from the footbridge at Bellevue to the next available footbridge at Enterprise Road, a distance of roughly four kilometres, and spoke to people who crossed the road to find out why they decided to risk some of Nairobi’s most dangerous traffic.

There was no pedestrian crossing, footbridge or tunnel over the entire distance.

At Parkside Towers, a group of three chance their way across. Joyce (not her real name) tells me there is no alternative. “Belle Vue is far and we have to go to Ole Sereni,” she says, and following the bridge the way the cars do would take too long. “You just have to watch the road.” According to Joyce, the only solution is a flyover. ‘Cars shouldn’t stop, this is a highway.”

NONSTOP CROSSING

Next to Gateway Business Park, one and a half kilometres from the Belle Vue bridge, I watch Musyoka (not his real name), a short man, probably in his 50s, cross the road. He tells me he makes a living delivering packages to and fro. “Kuna kitu nachukua hapa Total” (I am picking up something here at Total), he tells me. “I cross the road nearly every day because my work is just here.”

He has seen many people hit by cars on Mombasa Road, and he knows the benefit of using the bridge, but balks at taking the time to walk to Belle Vue, cross the bridge and walk back. That would add three kilometres to his journey. “Ni mbali (It’s far),” he says.

I ask him if he plans to keep crossing the road. “Sasa tufanye nini? Huwa tubaomba Mungu” (Now what do we do? We pray to God), he says in resignation.

Further on, at the Nakumatt Head Office, 2.3 kilometres from the Belle Vue Bridge, I meet two men, one of them in a Nakumatt shirt.

His colleague tells me that many people must cross Mombasa Road because public transport drops them on the opposite site of the highway from their home or place of work. “Tunashuka pande ile halafu tunavuka pande hii.” They also want a bridge built.

“Some drivers are intelligent and slow down when they see others do so, but others don’t.”

NTSA Director of Road Safety, Mr Matthew Munyao, told Nation Newsplex that the lack of crossing aids on Mombasa Road are historical ‘design issues’ that the planned upgrade from Jomo Kenyatta Airport through to Rironi, near Limuru, is expected to correct. Bids were invited for the project in August this year.

Waiyaki Way has also been deadly, claiming lives at Kangemi Market, Kangemi flyover, Uthiru, 87 Area, Opposite Safaricom and around Nairobi School. But I am interested in Kinoo, a rapidly growing village farther along the highway that is fast gaining a gruesome reputation for road crashes.

With dense development and vibrant businesses on both sides of the road, the crossing is nonstop.

INSECURE TUNNEL

On this Sunday evening, I stand by the side of the road watching as pedestrians cross briskly back and forth. The risk of being mowed down by the fast traffic is ever-present, and I manage to photograph a woman as she scoops up her child and dashes across.

Unlike Mombasa Road, there is a tunnel here to help pedestrians cross the highway. It is well used, with even children walking in fearlessly. However, once darkness falls, people opt against it. “At night we don’t dare go in because it’s not safe,” a bystander tells me.

On the side of the road I meet Martin (not his real name), a well-built man in sunglasses, who seems in charge of the matatus. All the touts defer to him. He tells me that someone was struck by a car on Saturday, around 8pm. “Many people are hit here and Muthiga, particularly drunks,” he says.

He adds that the zebra crossing used to be visible, but was not repainted after it faded. “Some drivers are intelligent and slow down when they see others do so, but others don’t.”

I walk into the tunnel and on the other side, I meet John, a vendor. He tells me he lost a friend to a crash just this Thursday, and at least one person gets hit every week. “The gap in the wall should be closed. This road has killed far too many people,” he says. “People can use the tunnel.”

Daniel Momanyi speaks to me as he enters the tunnel. While the tunnel is safe during the day, it can be insecure at night. “The underpass needs to be well lit, and police should provide security,” he says. Or build us a bride like the one in Kikuyu which everyone is using, he says. “Then we can close that gap in the wall.”