Washington Ochieng: UK-Based Expert Tasked With Fixing Nairobi Traffic Jam

A collage image of vehicles caught in a traffic jam along Mombasa Road (left) and Prof Washington Ochieng (right).
A collage image of vehicles caught in a traffic jam along Mombasa Road (left) and Prof Washington Ochieng (right).
The Standard
Imperial College London

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja appointed Prof Washington Ochieng as the traffic advisor for the county government.

In his speech on October 26, the county boss noted that the traffic menace in Nairobi was of great concern to city residents explaining that the transport expert based in the United Kingdom would help provide long-lasting solutions to the menace.

He credited the appointment to the scholar's expertise and reputation in the world towards solving traffic menaces. Notably, the professor got a special mention from the governor during the gubernatorial debate in July.

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja addresses traders in Gikomba market on Monday, October 17, 2022..jpg
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja addresses traders in Gikomba market on Monday, October 17, 2022.
Johnson Sakaja

"On mobility, we must get a city where we cannot spend hours in traffic. I have nominated Prof Washington Yotto Ochieng.

 

"He has sorted out mobility in London and Beijing and he is a resource that we will rely on as an outside eye looking in to sort out our issues of mobility," he stated.

The professor currently heads the Department of Civil and Environment Engineering at the Imperial College of London. He is also the vice president of the Royal Institute of Navigation.

At the beginning of the month, Ochieng was also appointed as the chair of the Science Museum Advisory Board (SMAB)

 

His experience in mobility has seen him engage in various research studies used by the UK and other European countries to offer transport solutions.

In London, the engineering graduate of the University of Nairobi (UoN) is credited for the research that eased the traffic menace in London.

"Examples of his works include the design of positioning and navigation systems (including Europe's EGNOS and GALILEO systems) for land, sea, air and space applications; Air Traffic Management (ATM) and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS)," Imperial University London stated on its website.

While, it remains unclear what his proposals would be in managing traffic in Nairobi, the professor, during an interview with Alex Chamwada on Daring Abroad opined that the city needed a long-term strategic plan to meet the ever-rising transport demand of the city.

"In Nairobi, things appear to be chaotic. There appears to be a lack of grasp of the complexity of the problem. To address them will require a significant level of investment.

"I would extend it (ban on PSVs) to private cars. In some cities in the UK, we have what is called part and ride and we have shuttles that are very comfortable," Ochieng stated then.

Vehicles caught up in a traffic snarl-up along Thika road.
Vehicles caught up in a traffic snarl-up along Thika road.
Nation