It’s absurd to spoil city park for road

Nairobi’s public transport system and the traffic that comes with it is a wonder of the modern world.

This is because of the disorganisation, lack of leadership and deep-rooted political interest in the transport system that bags hundreds of millions of shillings a day.

In large cities, mass transit options such as metro, light rail, trams and bus rapid transit are the most efficient and sustainable ways of moving large numbers of people around.

According to C40 Knowledge, high-quality public transport services should be reliable, frequent, fast, comfortable, accessible, convenient, affordable and safe while serving routes for which there is demand.

This is precisely what Nairobi needs with three-quarters of its residents walking or using public transport to and from work.

Building more roads is not a solution when the roads we already have don’t cater for the needs of the majority of people, children and those living with various disabilities.

That said, having a section of Uhuru Park ceded for construction of an expressway is therefore ludicrous and deeply flawed. It is purely for profit and the benefit of a few greedy folks.

Cities can't only be about automobiles. It's impossible to imagine zero spaces for pedestrians to rest, exhale and just be.

Uhuru Park, with its symbolism of freedom, is a sacred place and anyone seeking its destruction is obviously misled.

If the problem is figuring out how to move people and ease congestion, these are some suggestions.

First, analyse routes with high demand and the available capacity to meet this demand. This will enable planners to understand which alternative transport services will serve these areas.

Second, there must be an overhaul in the management and governance of the current transport system from the involvement of several stakeholders to one stakeholder who is in charge of how others engage.

Regulating privately-owned transit industry agencies by establishing vehicle and service standards on procurement renewals, or establishing new formal public-private contracts like the Rea Vaya bus rapid transport in Johannesburg is a great way to start.

Third, using diesel buses exposes riders to high levels of air pollution and, therefore, renewing outdated and polluting bus fleets lessens air pollution exposure for bus riders and on the city’s streets while providing a more modern and comfortable bus experience.

There’s back-breaking, even life-threatening, work to be done in ensuring the Nairobi transport system is sane and serves the people that can be leadership’s focus because anything else is about their greed and not the people.