Following the surge in road accidents on major roads in Nairobi County, several agencies have made significant progress in tackling this issue by implementing various changes, including the introduction of new road designs.
These redesigned road layouts aim to rectify flaws that have been identified as major contributors to accidents.
Specifically, city roads such as the Outering Road, Southern Bypass, and the Nairobi Expressway have been the focus of these design interventions. Some of the implemented changes include;
Accelerating and Decelerating lanes
With speed increasingly being cited as a major contributor to road accidents, road agencies have introduced accelerating and decelerating lanes in some sections of select roads such as the Southern Bypass.
These dedicated lanes are aimed at giving motorists enough space to speed up or slow down while in traffic.
Most of the lanes have been merged with major highways to allow motorists to link up with the main road when accelerating or decelerating.
These lanes prevent instances of collision or traffic snarl-up experienced on most roads.
Pedestrian Bridges
According to National Transport and Safety (NTSA) statistics 2,318 Kenyans lost their lives in 2023 with majority of the casualties being pedestrians.
Most of these accidents occurred at highways where motorists prefer to drive at a high speed.
As such, a number of pedestrian bridges have been introduced to mitigate such incidents.
Some of the areas where bridges have been erected include; sections of Waiyaki Way in Westlands, Thika Road and parts of Mombasa Road.
Slip Roads
Slip roads are short connecting roads that allow vehicles to enter or exit a major highway or road. They provide a safe transition zone, allowing drivers to adjust their speed and merge smoothly with the flow of traffic.
Following a series of road accidents, the government introduced slip roads in the Southern Bypass in 2022 to curb road carnage.
Expressway Guard Rails
In May 2022, a video showing students crossing Waiyaki Way amid fast-moving vehicles sparked outrage among Kenyans.
In response, Kenyans.co.ke followed up on the incident and reported that the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) and Moja Expressway installed metallic guard rails, effectively directing pedestrians to use the nearby bridges.
Piping
During the short and long rainy seasons, drainage issues on roads like Thika Super Highway and Nairobi Expressway were exposed.
Water pouring from elevated sections posed hazards, blinding drivers and causing accidents, while also resulting in road flooding and damage to vehicle engines.
To address this, the designs of the Expressway and Mombasa Road included piping systems that efficiently direct water to drainage systems were tweaked, to mitigating these issues.
