Governor Mike Sonko Consults Chinese Over Nairobi Traffic

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko on Tuesday held consultations with the Chinese authorities over the stubborn Nairobi traffic.

The county boss met a delegation from Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute at City Hall, Nairobi.

"The group expressed willingness to partner with my administration in implementing Nairobi’s CBD decongestion and our urban renewal plans," Sonko stated.

Nairobi's quest and search for a lasting, durable and stable sustainable traffic congestion solution over the past few years has been a pipe-dream.

The latest effort by the County saw the banning of Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) from the CBD led to a clampdown on city's transport that lasted nearly 24 hours.

Sonko has, however, remained adamant on decongesting the city urging Nairobians to join in providing alternatives rather than dismissing the ban altogether.

"Hii ya kwanza ilikuwa drill. Mlitembea on Monday na mtatembea tena (That first one was a drill. You walked on Monday and you will walk again)," he stated during the KCB Foundation 2jiajiri Youth Empowerment Program at the Safaricom Indoor Arena in Kasarani.

He, nevertheless, stated that there was a need for more consultation with the affected parties in order to find a permanent solution.

Previous efforts by City Hall have seen the installation of intelligent traffic lights at major junctions, rerouting of traffic at intersections, and the introduction of Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) lane.

Traffic snarl-up leads to opportunity cost due to wasting time of motorists and passengers, road rage associated with stressed and frustrated motorists, and interfering with the passage of emergency vehicles.