Runda Association has placed an advert in today's Daily Nation criticizing the Ministry of Roads for going ahead with the Northern by-pass without NEMA's approval. I have the feeling that the real concern is the resultant decreased property values (informal settlements and small scale businesses along the highway) and maybe security. Might agree with that.

But the way the advert,placed on a national newspaper,lists and words the negative effects is condescending to the ordinary mwananchi (who advised these guys?)...influx by 'outsiders',the increased human traffic posing a security threat (welcome back to Kenya?),the road will extend the city's 'traffic nightmare' to Runda (again,welcome back to Kenya) and my favorite,speeding and poorly maintained vehicles on the new highway endangering the lives of Runda residents (dude,be careful next time you pass through Runda in that beat-down Peugeot...you might be arrested for killing someone's cat with the fumes).

Other arguments sound ridiculous e.g. danger of flooding,increased expense for construction of the road due to the type of soil in the area (is this their business?),accusing China Road & Building of being behind all their problems (yeah right! blame the Chinese!),the idea is obsolete etc. They strongly support the Southern and Eastern bypasses but not the Northern one. Translation? Let those guys in Eastlands choke in the chaos...what the heck,who cares?

By the way,I don't see why an estate with so many heavy-hitters should be crying so hard in public. Always thought that all it takes to sort out such a matter would be a phone-call. Seems not. And maybe gladly so...I can only hope that Kenya is truly changing.

The bigger picture? The way I see it...the next time some big-shot goes inciting and causing chaos everywhere,he will realize that the violence could be 'coming soon to/from a slum very near you.'

Time and chance happen to all.

http://www.nation.co.ke/...n/-/ubhrnb/-/index.html

This is very interesting indeed. questions are bound to be asked. Where were these people since 1970? Ama these are the people who own Nairobi. Nairobi ina wenyewe!

Reminds me of the noise that arose when construction of the mlolongo road began. But the road is now 50% done so the northen bypass should also be built. These guys need to know that they are not the only inhabitants of Nairobi. Hata watu wa thika road also call nairobi home. That trafiic they are talking about,mostly comes from thier estate with each house having like 4 cars as standard. Nairobi traffic needs to be decongested now and not later. This city accounts for close to 65% of Kenyas GDP. We cannot continue wasting hrs on end on traffic jams when we can build roads. Kama plans were okay in 1970 they are okay today. the min if raods should go ahead and construct the road to ease the jam we face every day. Kama the land that was a road reserve has been grabbed and built,then the structure should go ALA nakumatt thika road. We ether decide to build roads or we build houses and sleep on the little ones that are there. I have see registration plates of KBG...H. And as stated hawa watu are the ones buying these cars and not the ordinary mwanainchi using public transport.

Nema or no Nema,thos road has to be built. But lets see what happens as it could be that Nairobi ina wenyewe.


'You can fool all the people some of the time,and some of the people all the time,but you cannot fool all the people all the time.'
Abraham Lincoln.

They might have a point regarding the use of 1970 plans in the 21st century..... A few years ago,I was involved in the installation of traffic lights in Nairobi.

The council gave us traffic flow data from 1988 (16 years old!!!} and we used it to calculate signal timings. Guess what happened when we switched on the lights? YES,a grid-lock occurred in less than five minutes!

So we switched them off and did a new vehicle count - a process that lasted 28 days,working from 5:30am to 10pm every day; including the weekends! Because of this additional cost and the penalty charged for 'delayed completion',we did not make a profit on the project.

We used this to work out new timings and,voila,that junction has the smoothest flow to date.... guess which one it is....

Moral of the story: old plans may not work very well. New traffic data need to be collected before we pour money into a new {in reality,old) road.

A highway does not depreciate property values unless the property stands in its way. The way I understand this Northern by-pass is that it does not pass through Runda but behind it. This development will actually impact positively on land and other properties around it given the fact that in effect it will open up the area. Other than the exposure by other investors that residents of Runda will get,which again can either be positive or negative depending on how its managed,I do not understand this hue and cry. Moreover,massive developments such as a major highway undergo rigorous research and surveys including how they will impact on communities around them before passing the test. If you want to invest in property especially land,follow the by-pass..

A man is the best judge of his own situation

I remember a while ago,one could only get not les than 5 acres of land in Karen. This rule was relaxed and now if you have Ksh 7.5 million,you can acquire a half acre of land. But guess what,the 'real residents' there have been complaining that people from 'Korogosha' with their funny mannerims have invaded their place. Can you imagine!!