STATEMENT

JOINT STATEMENT BY ENG. MICHAEL S.M KAMAU, CBS, CABINET

SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE
AND DR. EVANS KIDERO, GOVERNOR,NAIROBI COUNTY ON
DECONGESTION AND TRAFFIC CIRCULATION IN NAIROBI CITY
ISSUED ON MONDAY 9TH MARCH, 2015 AT CITY HALL
Members of the Media
We have convened this briefing to inform Kenyans and Nairobi City residents of
the joint plans the National and County Government of Nairobi have to address
traffic jams in the City. The congestion of the city is a matter great concern to all as
a result of the long commute times, man hours lost and the obvious high cost of
transport and doing business.
The National Government and County of Nairobi will be working closely to
implementation of short, medium and long-term measures to tackle the problem.
You may recall that on 21st October, 2014, the Ministry of Transport and
Infrastructure signed an MOU with the counties of Nairobi Metropolitan Area to
pave way for co-operation with regard to matters of transport and transit systems in
the metropolitan area. This initiative to deal with traffic congestion in the city of
Nairobi is being implemented within this framework.
We are alive to the fact that congestion situation in Nairobi requires immediate
action but we are also aware that a one-off quick fix will not deliver the results
Kenyans deserve and therefore the approach will be focused, consistent and
systematic devoid of the fear to experiment, make mistakes and correct them.

Congestion in Nairobi City is due to a transport system, that has experienced

exponential growth in vehicle population without commensurate expansion of road
infrastructure. The situation has been worsened by inadequate public transport
system with the capacity to ferrying the growing number of commuters within the
metropolitan area efficiently.
In order to provide leadership in addressing this challenge, we have constituted and
gazetted an inter-disciplinary Task Force chaired by Mr. Mohamed Abdullahi, the
County Executive Committee Member for Roads and Transport, Nairobi City
County to continuously identify causes of traffic bottlenecks and come up with
effective solutions to address them.
The team has already come up with a plan that will be rolled out as follows:
SHORT-TERM/QUICK WINS (0-12 weeks)
Review of PSV termini, bus stops and routes
It has been noted that PSVs have converted some streets in the CBD as termini
causing congestion. In order to address the problem and also streamline PSV
operations in the city the following measures will be implemented:
1. Review all PSV termini and bus stops in the city and redesign routes to
avoid termination of PSVs in the CBD.
2. Enforce the Nairobi County by-Law that allows PSV to wait for passengers
at termini for a maximum of 40 minutes and 5 minutes at bus stops.
3. Review all PSV routes to improve traffic flow and gazette the same.
4. Suspension of licensing of PSVs on Nairobi City routes until a demand
analysis of all routes is undertaken to justify issuance of additional licenses.
5. A multi-agency team comprising NTSA, Nairobi County and traffic police
will enforce and ensure all PSVs comply with NTSA act, City by-laws and
the Traffic Act.
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Improvement of Junctions
Twenty one (21)road junctions have been identified for improvement along the
arterial roads to improve traffic flow. These include, Ngong Road, Argwings
Kodhek Road, Haile- Selassie Avenue, Jogoo Road, Mombasa Road, Langata Road
and Kiambu Road. Contracts have already been awarded to improve junctions by
constructing side lanes to divert some of the traffic from using roundabouts.
Already, implementation is taking place along Ngong road at Muchai Drive.
Removal of Roundabouts
We are addressing traffic movement along the arterial road, A104 (Waiyaki WayUhuru Highway-Mombasa Road). There are 6 roundabouts where 70 percent of
traffic builds up during rush hours thereby hindering smooth flow along the busy
stretch.
In order to improve the flow by about 30-40 per cent, five (5) roundabouts will be
removed and substituted with signalized intersections. The affected roundabouts
include the intersection between University Way and Uhuru Highway, Kenyatta
Avenue and Uhuru Highway, Haile-Selassie Avenue with Uhuru Highway, Bunyala
and Lusaka roundabouts. The roundabout at Westlands will be configured to avoid
right turning movements and traffic redirected accordingly.

MEDIUM-TERM (6months +)

In the Medium- term, improvements will be made to expand the road network
various corridors in and out of the city. Indeed works in some cases are ongoing
and will be completed soon these include:

Outer ring road

Mombasa Road-Uhuru Highway
Waiyaki Way
Njiru-Juja Road
Ngong Road-Show Ground
Langata Road
Thika Road
Jogoo Road
Mbagathi Road

Construction of the Southern bypass is ongoing and it should be completed very

soon. This bypass will provide an important alternative to west bound traffic that
does not need to cross the CBD.
Similarly, road missing links, namely: KunguKarumba-NgongRoad, Langata
Road-Bomas, 1st Avenue Eastleigh, Upper Hill, and along Outering Road are all
planned for pavement in order to provide alternative routes to improve traffic flow.
In addition, an Intelligent Transport System with centrally controlled Traffic
Management Centre for the City will be implemented to manage traffic movement.

LONG- TERM (3 Years +)

The sustainable solution to traffic congestion will be to develop and implement an
efficient and effective mass rapid public transport system that will include Bus
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Rapid Transit (BRT) commuter rail and Light Rail Transit (LRT).

The

development of these systems is at various stages of implementation. Indeed the

Government is proceeding to create the institutional framework through the
Nairobi Metropolitan Transit Authority to provide a coherent coordinated approach
to Nairobi Metropolitan transit issues.
In conclusion it is noteworthy that some of the traffic jams are caused by lack of
courtesy and bad driving habits. We urge all drivers to act with courtesy and avoid
bad driving habits like overlapping.
We also recognize that we require the support of all our stakeholders who include
PSV operators, commercial and private vehicle owners. We also look forward to
the support of the media in communicating some of the changes we will be making
and giving us feedback on what is working and what is not working so that we can
keep the city of Nairobi moving.
Thank you

Eng. M. S.M Kamau, CBS

Cabinet Secretary
Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure

Hon. Dr. Evans Kidero

Governor
Nairobi City County