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Thika Road Expansion was a Mistake
Rank: Member Joined: 4/15/2008 Posts: 207
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The obsession with piling infrastructure in Nairobi (696 km²) will see lots of resources wasted. In a country of 50million people, we need not less than 5 cities that can hold no less than 5 million each spurred by a vibrant diverse economy Do it today! Tomorrow is promise to no-one.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 6/23/2009 Posts: 13,558 Location: nairobi
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mufasa wrote:The obsession with piling infrastructure in Nairobi (696 km²) will see lots of resources wasted. In a country of 50million people, we need not less than 5 cities that can hold no less than 5 million each spurred by a vibrant diverse economy You are saying the right things but our leaders will never take us to where we need to be
COOP 70,000 ABP 15.20; HF 90,000 ABP 3.83; KQ 414,100 ABP 7.92; MTN 23,800 ABP 6.45
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/27/2012 Posts: 851 Location: Nairobi
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mufasa wrote:The obsession with piling infrastructure in Nairobi (696 km²) will see lots of resources wasted. In a country of 50million people, we need not less than 5 cities that can hold no less than 5 million each spurred by a vibrant diverse economy Is Thika highway all about Nairobi? Isn't Outering road expansion a positive? The Bypasses,aren't they desired? Expansion of Msa road to Machakos turn-off, anything wrong with that? Cities don't just happen. There has to be some economic activity,the oil that keeps the machine running.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 6/23/2009 Posts: 13,558 Location: nairobi
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mkeiy wrote:mufasa wrote:The obsession with piling infrastructure in Nairobi (696 km²) will see lots of resources wasted. In a country of 50million people, we need not less than 5 cities that can hold no less than 5 million each spurred by a vibrant diverse economy Is Thika highway all about Nairobi? Isn't Outering road expansion a positive? The Bypasses,aren't they desired? Expansion of Msa road to Machakos turn-off, anything wrong with that? Cities don't just happen. There has to be some economic activity,the oil that keeps the machine running. I believe that you have missed his point completely.. Rural urban migration is hurting Kenya and the crime statistics support this view. People move from an agricultural area full of life only to come squeeze into a four walled tin structure with a monthly pay of KES 7k. That's an earning of about KES 200 per day. It's not right
COOP 70,000 ABP 15.20; HF 90,000 ABP 3.83; KQ 414,100 ABP 7.92; MTN 23,800 ABP 6.45
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 8/30/2007 Posts: 1,558 Location: Nairobi
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Infrastructure and development of a country go hand in hand. You cant have cities or town development without roads or infrastructure. There are several roads built in upcountry too. These promote trade. Look at the isiolo road, Lapset these all spur economic activity. Thika road is great for bringing industrial goods from Thika to the market place.
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Rank: Member Joined: 7/7/2009 Posts: 41
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mufasa wrote:The obsession with piling infrastructure in Nairobi (696 km²) will see lots of resources wasted. In a country of 50million people, we need not less than 5 cities that can hold no less than 5 million each spurred by a vibrant diverse economy Very true. If we donot address this soon it's going to be a disaster. Devolution might be our only hope Happiness is not the absence of problems, It's the ability to deal with them
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Rank: Member Joined: 7/7/2009 Posts: 41
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mufasa wrote:The obsession with piling infrastructure in Nairobi (696 km²) will see lots of resources wasted. In a country of 50million people, we need not less than 5 cities that can hold no less than 5 million each spurred by a vibrant diverse economy Very true. If we don't address this soon it's going to be a disaster. Devolution might be our only hope Happiness is not the absence of problems, It's the ability to deal with them
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 11/13/2015 Posts: 1,597
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Horton wrote:Infrastructure and development of a country go hand in hand. You cant have cities or town development without roads or infrastructure. There are several roads built in upcountry too. These promote trade. Look at the isiolo road, Lapset these all spur economic activity. Thika road is great for bringing industrial goods from Thika to the market place.
There are many parts of Nairobi without roads or infrastructure like sewer or water and still growing. Zimmerman, Juja, Syokimau all grew before the infrastructure came around. You can have cities or towns without roads. Cities are for people not cars. Actually roads and highways kill cities and create urban sprawl. Have the industrial goods from Thika become cheaper as result of the Thika road? Are the pineapples even cheaper?
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 1/20/2011 Posts: 1,820 Location: Nakuru
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long post alert.... The move to force matatus to use the express way is welcome but very dumb. I used Thika road last week in the evening hours(heading to town from Githurai) and made the following observations. 1. Matatus still stop at express way to drop passengers who in turn jump over the steel barriers risking their lives and other peoples lives.This is not unique to Thika road. This is even worse at the brand new outering road. 2. The bumps at delarue/survey are the main cause of traffick jam. Its very stupid to call a road a superhighway and yet install speed bumbs on the express way to allow pedestrians(all due respect) to cross the damn expressway. It is also very stupid to have bus stages on a road called a super highway. 3. Traffick cops have no business standing on the superhighway unless with the objective of apprehending the rogue matatus dropping and picking passengers anywhere and everywhere. 4. All matatus plying Thika road should have a terminus somewhere in KU/Uhuru's farm and there should be a Rapid bus from that point to town.This is the only way to get rid of traffick at Muranga road/Globe cinema bottleneck. This should also apply to Mombasa road where all matatus should end their trips at Syokimau. In short, matatus should not be allowed to operate within a 15km radius of the CBD. Tanzania is doing it so this is not rocket science.This should also apply for langata road and Waiyaki way. Kenyans have long suffered from matatu chaos. The matatu operators have made enough money(recovered)ever since the demise of KBS therefore should not complain. That fellow Kimutai and Mbugua have been at it since the 90's and have made enough money to focus on other ventures and allow Kenyans to live a diesel-pollution free life. Government should also walk the talk. Kizungu mingi na catwalk does not help the watch repairer or the shoeshine guy on Accra road who is swallowing diesel smoke in humongous portions as i write this. The muhindi at Posta stage in Tom Mboya street or the mobile phone sellers at Ronald Ngala street are not spared either by this diesel pollution and neither is you and i and a host of other peace loving wananchi. Finally, Uhuru or any other future Kenyan president should copy Paul Kagame way of doing things(There is no shame in doing this). Paul Kagame serves the interest of Rwandans and not a few interest groups/cartels e.g., Matatu owners association or evangelical churches association etc. We are in the 21st century na hatupendi ujinga ya 90's. Dumb money becomes dumb only when it listens to smart money
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Rank: Member Joined: 12/1/2007 Posts: 539 Location: Nakuru
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Fyatu wrote:long post alert....
The move to force matatus to use the express way is welcome but very dumb. I used Thika road last week in the evening hours(heading to town from Githurai) and made the following observations.
1. Matatus still stop at express way to drop passengers who in turn jump over the steel barriers risking their lives and other peoples lives.This is not unique to Thika road. This is even worse at the brand new outering road.
2. The bumps at delarue/survey are the main cause of traffick jam. Its very stupid to call a road a superhighway and yet install speed bumbs on the express way to allow pedestrians(all due respect) to cross the damn expressway. It is also very stupid to have bus stages on a road called a super highway.
3. Traffick cops have no business standing on the superhighway unless with the objective of apprehending the rogue matatus dropping and picking passengers anywhere and everywhere.
4. All matatus plying Thika road should have a terminus somewhere in KU/Uhuru's farm and there should be a Rapid bus from that point to town.This is the only way to get rid of traffick at Muranga road/Globe cinema bottleneck. This should also apply to Mombasa road where all matatus should end their trips at Syokimau. In short, matatus should not be allowed to operate within a 15km radius of the CBD. Tanzania is doing it so this is not rocket science.This should also apply for langata road and Waiyaki way.
Kenyans have long suffered from matatu chaos. The matatu operators have made enough money(recovered)ever since the demise of KBS therefore should not complain. That fellow Kimutai and Mbugua have been at it since the 90's and have made enough money to focus on other ventures and allow Kenyans to live a diesel-pollution free life. Government should also walk the talk. Kizungu mingi na catwalk does not help the watch repairer or the shoeshine guy on Accra road who is swallowing diesel smoke in humongous portions as i write this. The muhindi at Posta stage in Tom Mboya street or the mobile phone sellers at Ronald Ngala street are not spared either by this diesel pollution and neither is you and i and a host of other peace loving wananchi.
Finally, Uhuru or any other future Kenyan president should copy Paul Kagame way of doing things(There is no shame in doing this). Paul Kagame serves the interest of Rwandans and not a few interest groups/cartels e.g., Matatu owners association or evangelical churches association etc. We are in the 21st century na hatupendi ujinga ya 90's. Where is the like button when I need it? For investors as a whole, returns decrease as motion increases ~ WB
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 11/13/2015 Posts: 1,597
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Today I have counted 3 stalled NYS buses. I'm not sure if GoK will be able to pull this through. They should have tendered for a private transport provider for the areas within 15km of CBD
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 2/2/2012 Posts: 1,134 Location: Nairobi
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mukiha wrote:If they had asked me, I'd have suggested that we spend all that money in improving the railway link between Thika and Nairobi.
The problem is not the size of the road; it is the number of cars using it. The way to reduce this number is to provide an good alternative to road transportation.
Watch this space: as soon as the expanded highway is opened, the traffic jams will return. Simple reason being that people will have moved from Nairobi to Thika enmase
Have you seen the developments going on along this highway...all waiting for it to open? Amazing...8 years later
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Rank: Member Joined: 9/11/2014 Posts: 228 Location: Nairobi
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chiaroscuro wrote:mukiha wrote:If they had asked me, I'd have suggested that we spend all that money in improving the railway link between Thika and Nairobi.
The problem is not the size of the road; it is the number of cars using it. The way to reduce this number is to provide an good alternative to road transportation.
Watch this space: as soon as the expanded highway is opened, the traffic jams will return. Simple reason being that people will have moved from Nairobi to Thika enmase
Have you seen the developments going on along this highway...all waiting for it to open? Amazing...8 years later There are really smart people in Kenya. Problem is that they will never be consulted.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 7/28/2015 Posts: 9,562 Location: Rodi Kopany, Homa Bay
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iris wrote:chiaroscuro wrote:mukiha wrote:If they had asked me, I'd have suggested that we spend all that money in improving the railway link between Thika and Nairobi.
The problem is not the size of the road; it is the number of cars using it. The way to reduce this number is to provide an good alternative to road transportation.
Watch this space: as soon as the expanded highway is opened, the traffic jams will return. Simple reason being that people will have moved from Nairobi to Thika enmase
Have you seen the developments going on along this highway...all waiting for it to open? Amazing...8 years later There are really smart people in Kenya. Problem is that they will never be consulted. So how do you use the train if you live in roysambu, roasters, pangani etc?
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Rank: New-farer Joined: 5/21/2013 Posts: 72 Location: KENYA
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hardwood wrote:iris wrote:chiaroscuro wrote:mukiha wrote:If they had asked me, I'd have suggested that we spend all that money in improving the railway link between Thika and Nairobi.
The problem is not the size of the road; it is the number of cars using it. The way to reduce this number is to provide an good alternative to road transportation.
Watch this space: as soon as the expanded highway is opened, the traffic jams will return. Simple reason being that people will have moved from Nairobi to Thika enmase
Have you seen the developments going on along this highway...all waiting for it to open? Amazing...8 years later There are really smart people in Kenya. Problem is that they will never be consulted. So how do you use the train if you live in roysambu, roasters, pangani etc? That was his point, really. An improved railway link would have connected these suburbs. In cities like Jo'burg and Pretoria, there is a bus-feeder system that ferries train passengers from suburbs that are away from the train stations to the train station at a subsidized cost. Improve train wagons and engines, revamp train stations and the actual railway line, and establish a bus feeder system. Thika Road admittedly needs a relief system from an alternate transport form. “The market can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent.” - John Maynard Keynes
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Rank: Elder Joined: 7/28/2015 Posts: 9,562 Location: Rodi Kopany, Homa Bay
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shiznit wrote:hardwood wrote:iris wrote:chiaroscuro wrote:mukiha wrote:If they had asked me, I'd have suggested that we spend all that money in improving the railway link between Thika and Nairobi.
The problem is not the size of the road; it is the number of cars using it. The way to reduce this number is to provide an good alternative to road transportation.
Watch this space: as soon as the expanded highway is opened, the traffic jams will return. Simple reason being that people will have moved from Nairobi to Thika enmase
Have you seen the developments going on along this highway...all waiting for it to open? Amazing...8 years later There are really smart people in Kenya. Problem is that they will never be consulted. So how do you use the train if you live in roysambu, roasters, pangani etc? That was his point, really. An improved railway link would have connected these suburbs. In cities like Jo'burg and Pretoria, there is a bus-feeder system that ferries train passengers from suburbs that are away from the train stations to the train station at a subsidized cost. Improve train wagons and engines, revamp train stations and the actual railway line, and establish a bus feeder system. Thika Road admittedly needs a relief system from an alternate transport form. The nearest railway station to roysambu is in mwiki or githurai. So how many will board the subsidised buses to mwiki to catch the train to town? You should note that the current reli was built by colonialists for their use to move goods between nairobi and thika, nanyuki/laikipia and that was before roads were built. It's routing is inappropriate for current urban transport. Therefore putting new locomotives and wagons may not help solve the problem. If we are to use reli for urban transport, the only way out is to build a new commuter rail that serves the residential areas or an elevated reli along the major roads. The chinese have built elevated parts of sgr. So there would be no problem doing the same along the major roads ie. thika road, waiyaki way, ngong rd, mbs road etc. 
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 2/2/2012 Posts: 1,134 Location: Nairobi
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hardwood wrote:shiznit wrote:hardwood wrote:iris wrote:chiaroscuro wrote:mukiha wrote:If they had asked me, I'd have suggested that we spend all that money in improving the railway link between Thika and Nairobi.
The problem is not the size of the road; it is the number of cars using it. The way to reduce this number is to provide an good alternative to road transportation.
Watch this space: as soon as the expanded highway is opened, the traffic jams will return. Simple reason being that people will have moved from Nairobi to Thika enmase
Have you seen the developments going on along this highway...all waiting for it to open? Amazing...8 years later There are really smart people in Kenya. Problem is that they will never be consulted. So how do you use the train if you live in roysambu, roasters, pangani etc? That was his point, really. An improved railway link would have connected these suburbs. In cities like Jo'burg and Pretoria, there is a bus-feeder system that ferries train passengers from suburbs that are away from the train stations to the train station at a subsidized cost. Improve train wagons and engines, revamp train stations and the actual railway line, and establish a bus feeder system. Thika Road admittedly needs a relief system from an alternate transport form. The nearest railway station to roysambu is in mwiki or githurai. So how many will board the subsidised buses to mwiki to catch the train to town? You should note that the current reli was built by colonialists for their use to move goods between nairobi and thika, nanyuki/laikipia and that was before roads were built. It's routing is inappropriate for current urban transport. Therefore putting new locomotives and wagons may not help solve the problem. If we are to use reli for urban transport, the only way out is to build a new commuter rail that serves the residential areas or an elevated reli along the major roads. The chinese have built elevated parts of sgr. So there would be no problem doing the same along the major roads ie. thika road, waiyaki way, ngong rd, mbs road etc. Kwani "improving the rail link" nikufanya nini?
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Rank: Elder Joined: 3/18/2011 Posts: 12,069 Location: Kianjokoma
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There is traffic because many residents want to drive themselves to work. Wont change significantly even with improved railway
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Rank: Member Joined: 11/7/2017 Posts: 186 Location: Nairobi
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Lolest! wrote:There is traffic because many residents want to drive themselves to work.
Wont change significantly even with improved railway Many residents drive to work, because the public transport as it is, is unreliable, insecure and congested...
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 11/13/2015 Posts: 1,597
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hardwood wrote:shiznit wrote:hardwood wrote:iris wrote:chiaroscuro wrote:mukiha wrote:If they had asked me, I'd have suggested that we spend all that money in improving the railway link between Thika and Nairobi.
The problem is not the size of the road; it is the number of cars using it. The way to reduce this number is to provide an good alternative to road transportation.
Watch this space: as soon as the expanded highway is opened, the traffic jams will return. Simple reason being that people will have moved from Nairobi to Thika enmase
Have you seen the developments going on along this highway...all waiting for it to open? Amazing...8 years later There are really smart people in Kenya. Problem is that they will never be consulted. So how do you use the train if you live in roysambu, roasters, pangani etc? That was his point, really. An improved railway link would have connected these suburbs. In cities like Jo'burg and Pretoria, there is a bus-feeder system that ferries train passengers from suburbs that are away from the train stations to the train station at a subsidized cost. Improve train wagons and engines, revamp train stations and the actual railway line, and establish a bus feeder system. Thika Road admittedly needs a relief system from an alternate transport form. The nearest railway station to roysambu is in mwiki or githurai. So how many will board the subsidised buses to mwiki to catch the train to town? You should note that the current reli was built by colonialists for their use to move goods between nairobi and thika, nanyuki/laikipia and that was before roads were built. It's routing is inappropriate for current urban transport. Therefore putting new locomotives and wagons may not help solve the problem. If we are to use reli for urban transport, the only way out is to build a new commuter rail that serves the residential areas or an elevated reli along the major roads. The chinese have built elevated parts of sgr. So there would be no problem doing the same along the major roads ie. thika road, waiyaki way, ngong rd, mbs road etc. The patterns of settlement will have to change to follow the transport nodes. In most cities once the major transport link like the light rail is done, people shift to live near the transport node. Transport should not follow people to their settlements which is what out para-transit matatus have done. The light rail system being developed will have the effect of discouraging settlements in some areas. Secondly building elevated reli would be a disaster on the urban landscape. Elevated reli would act as a barrier and discourage human interactions. In other parts of the world elevated reli and highways within the urban areas are being knocked down. Elevated reli would only invite the homeless to live under and also a place for rubbish and public urinals. That's the reason the world bank refused to build the elevated Uhuru highway. This idea of living in the suburbs then insisting on clogging the streets with cars is what kills the urban core. Wahindis have been living and working on kirinyaga road, westlands and ngara. 7 out of 10 Nairobians opt for public transport. The 30% should tells us what makes them special
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