A petition was filed to Senate on Wednesday, April 19, concerning the construction of a pedestrian bridge along Waiyaki Way, Nairobi.
In his petition, Nickey Mouko Mwancha urged the Senators to prioritise the issue owing to the safety concerns of motorists and pedestrians.
He referenced the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) Highway Code that states all roads ought to have a provision for pedestrians to cross, either traffic lights, pedestrian crossing, or a footbridge due to highly speeding vehicles along the highway.
The petitioner urged that pedestrians, especially the University of Nairobi (UoN) students, were adversely affected due to the difficulties in crossing the highway.
"..this trend predisposes both motorists and pedestrians to road accidents, endangering their lives and those of other people.
"Efforts to resolve this matter with the relevant authorities have been futile and the issue in respect of which this petition is made is not pending before any Court of Law, Constitutional or Statutory body," the statement read in part.
Mwancha sought the intervention of the Transport and Infrastructure Committee to have the government construct the footbridge at Chiromo to enable pedestrians to cross the road easily and safely.
He urged the Senate Committee to make any other order or intervention that would resolve the crisis.
An NTSA report which ranked the most dangerous roads in Nairobi placed Waiyaki Way second owing to over 38 fatalities in 2021.
Outering Road led the statistics with 44 accident-caused deaths recorded during the time period.
Mombasa Road and Northern Bypass recorded 29 fatalities each, followed by Southern Bypass (28), Eastern Bypass (27), Thika Superhighway (25) and Kangundo Road (23) rounded up the list.
Other roads listed included Ngong Road which was ranked ninth with 22 deaths, sections of Thika Road (16), Jogoo Road (14), Juja Road (14), Lunga Lunga Road (13) and Airport North Road (13).
