USA President Obama’s Kenyan visit & its effect on Nairobi’s transport system

By James Adema

USA’s president Barack Obama’s visit to Kenya was one of those rare moments, not only for Nairobi, but for the rest of the country. First and foremost, the Nairobi county government employed workers to beautify the main road to the airport and to State House. This beautification included grass and flower planting. While the beauty was especially meant for the three-day special visit, it has turned out to be a permanent positive change to the main roads.

Continue reading

What To Do After an Accident

By: Caleb Chuma

Photo by: http://alexcare.com/
Photo by: http://alexcare.com/

It’s not something anyone wants to be involved in or can anticipate, but car accidents do happen and are occurring quite frequently these days. The high number of accidents has raised alarm with Kenyan road authorities; in May 2015 alone, 575 unique accidents were reported through our #AccidentsKE project.

Accidents reported in the Month of May from the @Ma3Route #AccidentsKE project
Accidents reported in the Month of May from the @Ma3Route #AccidentsKE project

However, many people do not know what to do when they are involved in a car accident. In the unfortunate instance that you find yourself in a road accident, follow the following steps:

Continue reading

Major Nairobi Roads To Be Closed This Friday Ahead of POTUS Visit

By Caleb Chuma

Update: July 24, 2015 9:00 AM

A more comprehensive update on roads has been issued by Inspector General @JBoinnet through his Twitter handle:

1. From Friday (24/7/15) to Sunday (26/7/15) from 1200 noon to 1400 hrs:

  • No access from Waiyaki Way to Chiromo past Westlands Roundabout
  • No entry/exit to/from Riverside
  • From Forest Road, no access to overpass onto Chiromo, blocked at Museum Hill
  • No access to Chiromo through University Roundabout
  • On Uhuru Highway from University Roundabout to JKIA closed from 1600 hours on both sides of dual carriage way inbound & outbound.

2. Saturday from 7:00 AM – 13:30 hrs:

  • Ojijo under/overpass, Forest Road/Limuru Road to UN Headquarters & back, blocked.
  • Bomb Blast area – 11:00 hrs; Haile Sellasie/Moi Avenue, Railways PSV terminus, cleared of motor vehicles. From Landhies blocked at Choo No. Nane.
  • Route from Bomb Blast area to State House & back to hotel closed and from hotel to State House and back closed intermittently between 1300 hrs to 2300 hrs.

3. Sunday from 8:00 AM to 17:00 hrs: 

  • Thika Super Highway closed both sides up to border with Kiambu County.

Continue reading

Nairobi Beautification Not About POTUS

By Caleb Chuma

Photo by: @ronoray
Photo by: @ronoray

Nairobi is abuzz with roadside construction as the city undergoes an extreme makeover in an effort to ‘beautify,’ as Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero puts it. Around the city and its outskirts, major roads are undergoing renovation, with many road users terming the renovations a nuisance and an additional cause of traffic jams. Many citizens believe this work is aimed at pleasing The President of The United States (POTUS) Barack Obama who is set to visit Kenya between the 24th – 26th July this year. These efforts have brought praise and criticism in equal measure from Nairobians. A disappointed road user tweeted, “Obama will only be here for a day. They should have used the money to unblock drainages, which are always a problem to motorists every time it rains.” Another road user tweeted, “Congratulations for the beautification ongoing around the CBD of Nairobi City @KideroEvans.”

Continue reading

The Dawn of Better Road Traffic Control

By James Adema

Source: @CaptainOpany  on Ma3Route
Source: @CaptainOpany on Ma3Route

How can Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) interface with traffic? When you think of technology and traffic, often you think of flying cars, or other out-of-this-world, crazy inventions. But sometimes all it takes to avoid traffic is just more information about the traffic and where it is! Several years ago, there were less traffic control platforms to monitor day-to-day road traffic activities and many people would blindly drive into traffic because they simply didn’t know there was traffic on that particular road.

Continue reading