Someone I have
known for many years has a jolly and go getter attitude was recently thrown
into a situation whereby they needed to use Magadi road on a daily basis. He
became a changed man- it was as though someone switched off a light in him permanently.
He became gloomy, cranky and always on the edge. I took my time to understand
what the issue was and was very shocked-it was the traffic jam menace of Magadi
road that had thrown him off balance. I sympathized with him.
Anyone who
resides or has ever visited Ongata Rongai will tell you, that the traffic jam
experienced here is a nightmare. It is unexplainable and has increasingly
become worse. A number of interventions are normally implemented and then along
the way they are stopped or die completely e.g. permanently having a policeman
directing traffic at Maasai lodge bus stop, Tuskys supermarket shopping centre and
clean shelf supermarket. If for whatever reason these Traffic cops are not in
position, the traffic jam will be messed up the whole day.
I am not the
first person to write about the traffic jam mess on Magadi road. Quite a number
of people have highlighted the issue on all our local dailies. A lot of radio
stations in the morning will keep reiterating that Magadi road is a no go-zone. @Ma3route
will consistently have updates on the traffic on Magadi road. This is in spite
the fact that a majority of the working class leave their homes as early as 5.00
a.m. It is not unusual to leave Rongai at 5.30 a.m and get to town at 8.30 a.m(The
same time it will take you to get to Nyeri from Nairobi- a distance of over 150
kilometers) or sometime 9.30 a.m.
The “diaspora”
town of Ongata Rongai is a subject of all manner of jokes due to its never
ending traffic jam. Oh our matatu’s have wifi, facilities to charge our phones,
visa’s to travel into Rongai, toilets, nature trails at the national park and
yoghurt for you to drink on your journey. You could think you were travelling
to Malaba if you didn’t know where the town was. No one understands how a town
can suffer traffic jam all the time everyday.
Below I have extracted
from google maps (the disclaimer has been copied at the end of this article)
the distance between Ongata Rongai and Nairobi CBD and the other problematic areas
that are a cause of the traffic jam.
v
The distance between Tuskys Ongata Rongai
shopping centre and Haile Selassie roundabout is 17.4 kilometers, without
traffic you can cover the distance in 28-36 minutes.
v
The distance between Tuskys Ongata Rongai
shopping centre and Tuskys chap chap supermarket is 1.40 kilometers ,without
traffic you can cover the distance in 5 minutes.
v
The distance between Tuskys Ongata Rongai
shopping centre and World peak international limited (Now Oryx petrol station)
via Magadi road is 1.50 kilometers ,without traffic you can cover the distance
in 6 minutes. If you use Gataka road the distance increases to 2.60 kilometers,
without traffic you can cover the distance in 7 minutes.
v
The distance between Tuskys chap chap supermarket
and Maasai lodge bus stop is 4.60 kilometers, without traffic you can cover the
distance in 8 minutes. (Google map in this case advocates the use of Gataka
road rather than Magadi road).
v
The distance between Tuskys Ongata Rongai
shopping centre and Gems international Cambridge School is 5.20 kilometers, without
traffic you can cover the distance in 15 minutes.
v
The distance between Rimpa and Maasai lodge
stage is 11.3 kilometers and without traffic you can cover the distance in 18
minutes via Rimpa road)
v
The distance between Tuskys Ongata Rongai
shopping centre and Kiserian Is 8.1 kilometers ,without traffic you can cover
the distance in 17 minutes.
v
The distance between Karen shopping centre and Tuskys
Ongata Rongai shopping centre as 16.6 kilometers, without traffic you can cover
the distance in 31 minutes.
Notice something
interesting, Ongata Rongai is only 17.4 kilometers from town what we do on that
road for more than 2 hours should be the stuff that causes action from those
concerned. Magadi road has traffic most of the time from morning till evening
and sometimes on both sides of the road (The worst times are over the weekends,
public holidays, early morning and evenings). The area where the slow traffic snarls
up is between Tuskys chap chap and Gems Cambridge School. The distance in total
is 5.20 +1.40=6.60 kilometres. That would be my area of focus if I was in a
position to make a change.
African Nazerene
university held its graduation in November 2015. On that day it took me one and
a half hours(7.30 a.m to 9.00 a.m) from Laiser Hill School to Joliday Nursery School
a distance of approximately 2 kilometers. The graduation ceremony was even in
the opposite direction from where I was. I wonder what happened to those who
were coming from town where the graduation was.
It is indeed a tragedy.
Sojourner
Part two coming shortly.
Related articles:-
http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Rongai-Traffic-Jams-Roads-Infrastructure-Nairobi/-/1056/2631674/-/tmknfs/-/index.html
http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Traffic-jams-changing-city-lifestyles/-/1248928/2765256/-/wgtdfiz/-/index.html
https://web.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=413128812213020&id=410383132487588
http://www.wazua.co.ke/forum.aspx?g=posts&t=18716
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