The Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) has announced plans to establish non-motorized transport (NMT) within the capital aimed at enhancing walking spaces.
NMS Director-General Mohamed Badi made the announcement and said that the move also gears towards encouraging Nairobians to start using bicycles. The Sh 1.47billion plan will enable the construction of pedestrian walkways as well as cycling lanes in strategic transport corridors across the capital.
Already, the pedestrian and cycling lanes have been rolled out in Kenyatta Avenue, Wabera, and Muindu Mbingu Streets in Nairobi’s city centre. The grey and red lanes are currently being expanded beyond the central business district (CBD) in Hurlingham through Uhuru Park, Jogoo Road, and Westlands.
“Through our contractors, we have created NMTs in the city centre and plans are already in place to extend it to other areas. We are now working on more along Jogoo Road and Westlands. The non-motorised transport corridors will not only offer safety to pedestrians and cyclists but also contribute to decongestion on the roads. The grey ones are meant for pedestrians while the red are for cycling,” said General Badi.
Areas of set up
According to Nairobi County Fiscal Strategy Paper for the financial year ending June 30, 2021, the NMT will cover 116 km and has been divided into three packages. The first package will cover 36km spread in Eastlands with the first stretching from Jogoo Road to the CBD and divided into four corridors.
The Jogoo Road corridor covers 10km from Outer Ring-Jogoo-Landhies-Haile Selassie, with bicycle parking at the Kenya Railways station at Sh155 million. It will also cover 10km at Sh155 million stretching from Juja Road to the CBD through Outer Ring-Ring Road Ngara-Racecourse and terminating at Ladhies roundabout.
The other one will be 6km at Sh 93million running from Mumias South Road through Rabai Road, across Kenya Railways lines to Tanga Road terminating at Lunga Lunga Road. This will be joined by another one at Sh 93million covering 6km stretching from First Avenue Eastleigh (now Yusuf Haji Avenue) from Juja across Jogoo Road to Likoni up to Enterprise Road. The last one at Sh 62million will run from Lunga Lunga Road to Likoni then connect to Outer Ring covering 4km.
The second package will cover 55km running from the CBD to Westlands then to Ngong Road with the first corridor covering 7km between Kibera and Industrial area running through Mbagathi-Langata-Lusaka Road and then Jogoo Road round-about at Sh108.5 million.
NMT will also be set up along Enterprise from Lusaka to Likoni road intersection covering 3km at Sh46.6 million. The next one will be Kibera-Kilimani-Westlands corridor covering 15km starting from Kibera drive to Kenya Railway crossing–James Kangethe-NMT only route- Ring Road Kilimani-Kitale lane –Githunguri at Sh232.5 million.
Another 15 km of NMT will run from Kawangware to Kilimani then to the CBD. It will cover Gitanga-Ole Dume- Argwings Kodhek- Valley Roads terminating at Kenyatta Avenue at a cost of Sh 232.5million. The last one will be Kawangware–Westlands/Waiyaki Way corridor also covering 15km at a cost of Sh 232.5million. It will run from Chalbi drive to Isaac Gathanju—Mugumo—Olenguruone–Ring Road Kileleshwa terminating at Ring Road Westlands.
