Nairobi MCAs task Sakaja to redesign traffic lights, zebra crossing
Nairobi Members of County Assembly (MCAs) have passed a motion that will compell governor Johnson Sakaja to install speed limit signs and increase the number of pedestrian crossings on county roads.
The motion, which was tabled on June 27, 2023, by Roysambu Ward MCA Sospeter Mumbi, is aimed at reducing the number of accidents and deaths within the county and especially the Central Business District (CBD).
Mumbi stressed that the current state of zebra crossings and traffic lights are not in line with Governor Johnson Sakaja’s manifesto of having a clean and orderly city.
Traffic congestion in the CBD has also been blamed on poorly functioning traffic lights and missing zebra crossings.
The lack of clear road signage in the district has also been cited as a cause of theft and motorcycle accidents.
“The accidents some of which are very fatal happen because people are crossing at any point,” Mr Mumbi said.
The mover of the motion said that the few available legal speed limits and zebra crossing points were done a long time ago when the City had few vehicles and the pedestrian population had not increased to what is being witnessed now.
The MCA said that some of the accidents involving boda boda are being witnessed since the riders have not been informed of crossing points.
While supporting the motion, Woodley Kenyatta Golf Course member Davidson Ngibuini, commonly referred to as DNG, said clearly marked zebra crossings will lead to the removal of traffic marshals from the roads since the county will invest a modern technology to track those who will be involved in hit and run cases.
According to Nairobi Central MCA Mwaniki Kwenya, some of the zebra crossing areas within the town have been occupied by the matatus, forcing pedestrians to risk their lives while crossing the roads.
Through the motion, Governor Johnson Sakaja has also been tasked to undertake an audit of county roads with a view to redesigning more speed limit areas and increasing designated pedestrian crosses where necessary and rehabilitating the existing ones within the county.
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