Nairobi City’s perennial traffic congestion caused by matatu is about to be put to eternal rest after the transport committee was tasked with identifying feasible measures to tackle the problem.
City Hall now plans to do away with the Khoja matatu stage/Old Nation bus stage to ease congestion in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) and matatus operating in that stage will be routed to a space at Globe Roundabout. Mataus from the lower Kabete, Village Market, Thika Road, Muchatha and Banana routes will be affected by the move once implemented.
“The plan is to restore sanity on our roads and avert snarl-ups especially from vehicles accessing the city through the Globe Roundabout onto the Khoja/old Nation stage. We will also create walkways in the streets within the CBD. The move will be implemented soon and we are currently engaging stakeholders on the issue,” said County Transport and Roads chief officer Fredrick Karanja.
Kenya Railways land in Ngara is being targeted as holding grounds for matatu and the Chief Officer has urged the county transport committee and MCAs to initiate talks with the Railway operators in order to fast track the process.
Last month, the county government embarked on the action plan to decongest the city with the first project being the transformation of Luthuli Avenue into a one-way street with vehicles using the avenue exit to the CBD via River Road.
“Luthuli avenue for instance which was rehabilitated recently will remain a pedestrian walkway and matatus will not be allowed back. Our aim is to ensure that all matatus move out of the CBD,” said Karanja.
Although matatu decongestion has kicked into action, the committee lamented on the increasing numbers of private vehicles parking recklessly on roadsides with vehicles parking near Afya Centre being on the spotlight. The county is yet to designate a stage for the private cars.