A cyclist was on Wednesday, September 16, killed following a collision with a bus along the Thika Superhighway.
The road user identified as Caleb Omwoyo was reportedly hit by a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) belonging to the Kenya Mpya Sacco at Safari Park area.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Omondi Okwany, a professional cyclist and friend to the deceased narrated how motorists often bullied cyclists on the road.
"Thika Road has cyclists lane but they are inconsistent and they end abruptly forcing a cyclist to get back on the main road. Also, the roads are very chaotic as drivers do not care about you on the road," he disclosed.
He also observed that police officers did not take accidents involving cyclists seriously as they easily dismissed them when reported.
A group of cyclists led by Crispus Mahea launched a petition to get justice for the late cyclist demanding the arrest of the bus driver who was involved in the accident.
"[That] the Kenya Mpya Sacco be held accountable and sanctioned to the maximum level for the dangerous behaviours of their drivers which has now become all too common and which our traffic police department has demonstrated inability to stop," the petition reads in part.
The petitioners further want Transport CS James Macharia to direct that all roads that do not have bicycle lanes in Kenya to immediately have bicycle lanes constructed to serve the needs of all types of cyclists in urban and suburban areas, providing them with their own travel lane on the street surface.
The petition also called on the Ministry to conduct a public sensitisation exercise to educate all road users on safe driving behaviours on roads where citizens are increasingly taking to cycling for health, efficiency and economic reasons.
While many roads in the city might not be cyclist-friendly, the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) rolled out works in July on several CBD streets to create lanes for cyclists and pedestrians.
It is part of a broader plan to de-congest the city by increasing the adoption of non-motorised transport (NMT).
"This is part of the plan to decongest traffic. The program we have will enable city residents to walk or cycle from home to their places of work in the CBD negating the reliance on motorized transport systems,” NMS engineer Michael Ochieng stated in a past interview.
He stated that the NMT project would be infused to the upcoming Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system which seeks to leverage mass public transport systems to reduce traffic congestion in and around the city.
