Even with footbridges on major roads in Nairobi, pedestrians still opt to cross busy roads in total disregard of the facilities built for their safety.
About two weeks ago, police launched an operation to arrest people ignoring a footbridge on Fedha Road, off the busy Outer Ring Road.
As soon as the police patrol car left the area, reckless pedestrians resumed their old habits and, one by one, dashed across the three-lane highway, hoping to avoid being hit by speeding vehicles.
Road expansion in the city has seen more flyovers built at intervals of a few hundred metres, including on Thika, Outer Ring, Landhies, Jogoo, North Airport and Mombasa roads.
A police officer arrests a Kenyan along Outer Ring Road in Nairobi on October 15, 2021. This has not deterred reckless city residents from cross the roads beneath the footbridges.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
For instance, Outer Ring Road, about 13km long, has eleven footbridges, equating to one footbridge every 1.2km.
Nairobi Area Traffic Commandant Joshua Omukata told the Nation that this recently upgraded road accounts for most of the road accidents and deaths in the region, despite the numerous footbridges.
“Crossing the busy roads that have up to three lanes going in one direction is very dangerous. This is a social problem. People wish to take shortcuts, but I say, it is better to use the right means and avoid unnecessary accidents,” he said.
Kenyans prefer not using footbridges and well-marked crossing points.
Photo credit: Lucy Wanjiru | Nation Media Group
Data from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) shows that Outer Ring Road claimed 32 lives between January and September this year.
This number is higher than that for the wider and longer Thika Road, where 30 people died in the same period.
A fact-finding mission by Nation.Africa on several footbridges on several roads in Nairobi revealed just how flippantly Kenyans regard the footbridges.
NTSA programme and data manager Samuel Musumba laments that despite road safety campaigns, Kenyans still risk their lives crossing busy roads.
At least 1,502 pedestrians have been killed around the country so far this year.
Mr Musumba estimates that 80 percent of these victims were hit for failing to use designated spots for crossing roads.
This translates to at least 1,200 people who died for ignoring designated safe spots that are marked or constructed for their use.
“Most of the victims are killed in spots that have no pedestrian crossing or right below footbridges. It is sad, but what exactly can we do when citizens choose to risk their lives?” he posed.
Though the situation is dire, city residents interviewed by the Nation explained why they do not use footbridges.
Nicholas Madedo, a resident and boda boda operator in Tassia, a neighbourhood off Outer Ring Road, believes it is the sense of urgency that Kenyans have that forces them to cross the recently expanded highway.
“We love shortcuts, that is why we do not use footbridges. People are in a hurry. Why would they climb the long bridge when they want to board a matatu that is just a few metres away on the side of the road?” he said
“The last accident I saw happened last week, when a man was hit by a vehicle and died on the spot. Police came and forced us to use the bridge but we went back to rushing across the road as soon as they left,” he added.
“The deaths that occurred on Landhies Road near Muthurwa market and the Ngara area on Thika Road reduced to almost zero when we installed metal rails at the centre of the road,” said Mr Omukata, the traffic commandant.
This strategy forced pedestrians to use footbridges, saving more lives, he explained.
The police boss recalled an incident where a man was crushed to death when he was stuck between metal rails at the centre of North Airport Road in late 2017.
Sadly, and like many, the victim died less than 20 metres from a footbridge.
That year alone, eight people died on North Airport Road. Seven of them were pedestrians hit by vehicles because they ignored footbridges and marked spots on the road.
“Things are now much more relaxed on Mombasa Road thanks to the heavy construction going on there. Had it not been so, we would be seeing more deaths of pedestrians on the highway almost every week. I wish all Kenyans would understand the importance of these footbridges,” Mr Musumba of NTSA said.
Just before Wakulima House, a footbridge cuts across the entire Haile Selassie Avenue, ferrying pedestrians from the busy Muthurwa market to the other side of the street.
But no one uses it. The footbridge is now home to street families, who also use it as their toilet.
“This footbridge has all manner of filth. The urchins living there not only urinate but also defecate on it. How can we honestly use such a facility yet we can still cross at any point along Haile Selassie,” a street vendor said.
A footbridge at Muthurwa market rendered impassable by garbage and human waste on June 8, 2021. Th are concerns over the invasion of footbridges by beggars, muggers, hawkers and street children in the city.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Interestingly, metal rails were installed at the centre of the avenue from its junction with Landhies Road all the way to Uhuru Highway.
Still, Kenyans found cracks in the rail and continued passing through them when crossing the road.
It is not only dirty but also hosts street families, prompting pedestrians to avoid it and cross the road at the busy roundabout at the junction of Lang’ata Road, Uhuru Highway and Mombasa Road.
NTSA officials said they had tried to work with the county government to clean up footbridges but leadership wrangles at City Hall have made the partnership difficult.
Another factor discouraging pedestrians from using footbridges is the conversion of these safe routes to full-blown market centres, with hawkers turning them into stalls for their merchandise.
Hawkers sell their wares at Ngara footbridge on Thika Road in Nairobi on July 18, 2021 making it difficult for movement.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Because of this, walking space becomes congested and slows the traffic, and since Kenyans are always in a hurry, they opt to cross the busy roads.
To tackle this challenge, NTSA has urged Nairobi Metropolitan Services to provide enough space and markets for traders where they can comfortably carry out their business without “hijacking” footbridges, Mr Musumba said.
An earlier investigation by Nation.Africa found that hawkers on footbridges pay ‘rent’ to crooked city inspectorate officials and police officers.
NTSA is working to reduce road deaths by half and is running campaigns that target schoolchildren in high-risk areas.
The campaign is underway at Church Army Academy on Jogoo Road, Kariobangi South Primary School, Parklands and Moi Avenue Primary School.
“It is up to Kenyans to change their mindsets and behaviour and understand exactly why we want them to use the footbridges,” said Mr Omukata, the traffic commandant.
“We do not delight in making arrests. It is very serious and dangerous to cross the road when there is a footbridge to enhance your safety as a road user. Kenyans, let us comply and use the right means to cross the roads for our own good.”
