It is not only drivers who need to be mindful of cyclists, but also city planners and highway engineers, he says.
“They have to plan including people and people who cycle – not only for cars and buildings.”
The city’s planned solution to the jams is a new infrastructure scheme called the Dar Rapid Transit Project.
Scheduled for completion in 2015, the project will rehabilitate 21 kilometres (13 miles) of trunk road to introduce a speedy bus system.
– Coping with mega-city status –
“We are working very hard to keep up with the pace, to design an intensive master plan with Dar es Salaam,” says Jerry William Silaa, the mayor of Illala Municipal Council, which includes the city centre.
Sporting a helmet and reflector vest at the Cycle Caravan, he says the plans also include dedicated bike lanes.
“We are trying to make the city live another 100 years to come because with this growth we are going to reach a population of 15 million people and go to mega-city criteria by the year 2025.”
Dar es Salaam, along with other rapidly urbanising cities in east Africa, must follow the smart cities model and become more sustainable and innovative, the mayor says.
Other government responses to urban sprawl have included a recent ban on semi-formal modes of public transportation, like motorcycles and auto-rickshaws, in the town centre. But this has failed to alleviate congestion in the busy area.
“The thing with infrastructure is that it’s a socio-technical system, and so you might improve the technical aspect of it, but then the social and economic side might undo all the good work that you’ve done,” says economist Angela Ambroz, a researcher on urbanisation.
“So the example with widening a street, if you widen a street to address traffic, all that’s going to happen is that your supply increases, but then your demand will increase to meet that supply, and you’ll have congestion again down the line.”
