Here is the solution to Kampala traffic chaos
Nov 18, 2008
THE traffic situation in Kampala has gone out of hand. The urban dwellers have ceased lamenting about the poignant problem called traffic jam, which has reached the level of complete despair. What are the city planners doing? Very little and probably nothing.
By Florence Ibi Ekwau
THE traffic situation in Kampala has gone out of hand. The urban dwellers have ceased lamenting about the poignant problem called traffic jam, which has reached the level of complete despair. What are the city planners doing? Very little and probably nothing.
Apart from the traffic warders (Police and civilian guides), what else is in place? Traffic lights are not functioning and the narrow roads are potholed, with no or hard to discern markings.
During peak hours motorists, especially taxi-drivers, have the liberty to create as many lanes as they wish, dangerously criss-crossing from one imaginary lane to another, right under the very nose of the traffic cops. Taxis also stop in the middle of the road to drop or pick passengers! Did I hear that Gen. Kayihura at one time took charge of directing traffic at a certain junction? Quite a telling vote of no-confidence in the traffic cops.
There is also the menace of heavy vehicles. What would a bus heading downtown; a trailer going to Rwanda; a tipper taking sand to the suburbs; a lorry carrying raw materials to the industrial area; or a bulldozer destined for Munyonyo be doing in the city centre? These vehicles neither drop nor pick anything in the city, except stressing motorists.
Heavy vehicles contribute to the traffic jams in Kampala. Their looming presence near your small car and their potential to cause accidents have the capacity to cause panic in some drivers, considering how they have been involved in grisly road accidents lately. In the evenings, they drive in the middle of the road with headlamps at full beam.
Then there are the boda bodas, especially the motorcyclists. Need I say a thing? I am waiting for the day these eager riders will not scratch my car, or anyone else’s in my presence, to throw a celebratory party.
Pedestrians are in a dilemma. Zebra crossings are non-existent in the city — do not count on that one in front of the Main Post Office, for it has apparently become a foot crossing! The pedestrians are between a rock and a hard place, searching for an existing zebra crossing, or avoiding the oncoming motor traffic, thus, intensifying the traffic gloom in the process. Kampala City Council, kindly tell us the location of safe crossings in Kampala.
Motorists are to blame too. We occasionally affront the integrity of the highway code, and blossom in it like some evil flowers! What a pathetic paradox, considering that we usually swear at and curse all other motorists. Street packing is yet another problem. The potholed, narrow city roads are further narrowed by the desire to collect financial accruals! Ban parking along the streets, and Kampala will experience some freer flow of traffic.
For starters, former Shimoni grounds can do for a parking lot, among other sites. Another stress factor are the unending road constructions. You drive for miles, only to find the road closed for repairs, without any alternative routes. The courage with which they close roads, without prior notice, infuriates motorists. In attempts to find alternative routes, a jam is created.
Indifference on the part of KCC is salty in its effect! Salt is a substance that will invariably discourage the fine taste of almost anything, except soups. And so KCC.
In my opinion, heavy commercial vehicles from 1.5 tonnes should never be allowed to pass through the city centre. They should not be allowed beyond Spear Motors from the East, Kawempe from the North or Kibuye roundabout from the South and West. Others should not go past Mengo, or whichever routes the concerned authorities may designate for them.
These vehicles should only be allowed into and out of the city centre from 7.00pm to 7.00am to allow them offload or pick their merchandise. Buses should have the nearest routes to their parks charted out, and KCC garbage trucks drivers should be told to take keen note of the hours. The business community can always liaise with their suppliers and customers to observe the hours.
KCC should designate more zebra crossings and mark the roads clearly. Motorists should be compelled to stick to their lanes. Our traffic cops should be availed with some form of pocketless pajamas or attire to discourage them from taking bribes, which, by extension, promotes traffic distress.
The writer is the MP for Kaberamaido district
THE traffic situation in Kampala has gone out of hand. The urban dwellers have ceased lamenting about the poignant problem called traffic jam, which has reached the level of complete despair. What are the city planners doing? Very little and probably nothing.
Apart from the traffic warders (Police and civilian guides), what else is in place? Traffic lights are not functioning and the narrow roads are potholed, with no or hard to discern markings.
During peak hours motorists, especially taxi-drivers, have the liberty to create as many lanes as they wish, dangerously criss-crossing from one imaginary lane to another, right under the very nose of the traffic cops. Taxis also stop in the middle of the road to drop or pick passengers! Did I hear that Gen. Kayihura at one time took charge of directing traffic at a certain junction? Quite a telling vote of no-confidence in the traffic cops.
There is also the menace of heavy vehicles. What would a bus heading downtown; a trailer going to Rwanda; a tipper taking sand to the suburbs; a lorry carrying raw materials to the industrial area; or a bulldozer destined for Munyonyo be doing in the city centre? These vehicles neither drop nor pick anything in the city, except stressing motorists.
Heavy vehicles contribute to the traffic jams in Kampala. Their looming presence near your small car and their potential to cause accidents have the capacity to cause panic in some drivers, considering how they have been involved in grisly road accidents lately. In the evenings, they drive in the middle of the road with headlamps at full beam.
Then there are the boda bodas, especially the motorcyclists. Need I say a thing? I am waiting for the day these eager riders will not scratch my car, or anyone else’s in my presence, to throw a celebratory party.
Pedestrians are in a dilemma. Zebra crossings are non-existent in the city — do not count on that one in front of the Main Post Office, for it has apparently become a foot crossing! The pedestrians are between a rock and a hard place, searching for an existing zebra crossing, or avoiding the oncoming motor traffic, thus, intensifying the traffic gloom in the process. Kampala City Council, kindly tell us the location of safe crossings in Kampala.
Motorists are to blame too. We occasionally affront the integrity of the highway code, and blossom in it like some evil flowers! What a pathetic paradox, considering that we usually swear at and curse all other motorists. Street packing is yet another problem. The potholed, narrow city roads are further narrowed by the desire to collect financial accruals! Ban parking along the streets, and Kampala will experience some freer flow of traffic.
For starters, former Shimoni grounds can do for a parking lot, among other sites. Another stress factor are the unending road constructions. You drive for miles, only to find the road closed for repairs, without any alternative routes. The courage with which they close roads, without prior notice, infuriates motorists. In attempts to find alternative routes, a jam is created.
Indifference on the part of KCC is salty in its effect! Salt is a substance that will invariably discourage the fine taste of almost anything, except soups. And so KCC.
In my opinion, heavy commercial vehicles from 1.5 tonnes should never be allowed to pass through the city centre. They should not be allowed beyond Spear Motors from the East, Kawempe from the North or Kibuye roundabout from the South and West. Others should not go past Mengo, or whichever routes the concerned authorities may designate for them.
These vehicles should only be allowed into and out of the city centre from 7.00pm to 7.00am to allow them offload or pick their merchandise. Buses should have the nearest routes to their parks charted out, and KCC garbage trucks drivers should be told to take keen note of the hours. The business community can always liaise with their suppliers and customers to observe the hours.
KCC should designate more zebra crossings and mark the roads clearly. Motorists should be compelled to stick to their lanes. Our traffic cops should be availed with some form of pocketless pajamas or attire to discourage them from taking bribes, which, by extension, promotes traffic distress.
The writer is the MP for Kaberamaido district