Rapid urbanisation in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city, has meant there’s been huge growth in the number of vehicles on roads. Today, Nairobi is one of the world’s most congested cities.
Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) Director General Silas Kinoti has said intelligent infrastructure is helping transport networks to become more connected in an attempt to identify ways of improving experience for everyone on the road.
He said Kenya will be seeking to emulate on their foreign counterparts like Germany to initiate usage of Artificial Intelligence(AI) to optimise traffic light control and reduce the waiting time at an intersection.
“There are real world projects around the globe and the applications are continuously expanding. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be key to help us with the data which would identify patterns that would not have been seen without AI. Through continuous learning, we’re able to constantly update the traffic patterns and thus traffic flow. This results in less waiting time and fewer emissions.” noted Kinoti
Road Traffic monitoring involves the collection of data describing the characteristic of vehicles and their movement through road networks. Such data may be used for one of these purposes such as law enforcement, congestion and incident detection and increasing road capacity.
The roads in Nairobi carry more than 60 per cent of more than two million registered vehicles, resulting in tangles of traffic stretching for miles.
According to Kinoti, technology will play a big role in taming the traffic nightmare that mainly relies on traffic police to control
“KURA being an expert in Intelligent Traffic System (ITS) with an example being Yaya Centre,we will have cameras, signals and censors in all arms of the junctions. They will identify the junctions that have more traffic and will need more time for traffic to be put through the junction,” he further added.
In November 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta called for the redesign and signalising of 25 new intersections, the setting up of 100 new road junctions and construction of a new traffic management control centre for a larger area.
“The control centre will utilise traffic cameras and censors and harmonise location data to provide a synchronised signal at 100 new junctions in addition to the existing traffic lights,” the President affirmed.
Traffic management plays a crucial role in tackling many societal problems. It’s been effective in making driving safer, reducing pollution, increasing walkability, and helping governments update existing infrastructure.
Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority released a report that stated that vehicles stuck in traffic potentially cost Kenya almost $1 billion a year in lost productivity. Nairobi has been ranked as the fourth most congested city in the world.
According to the report, the average travel time in the city is about 57 minutes. This is attributed to the lack of a scheduled public transport system and a lack of an elaborate non-motorized transport network.
Other causes of Nairobi’s congestion and traffic jam is double parking, illegal bus stages, and personal cars being used as public service vehicles.
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