NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 21 – The European Union (EU) political and press head, Guy Harrison, on Sunday flagged off the ‘City Festival on Wheels’, a cycling event designed to encourage the use of eco-friendly mobility alternatives.
The festival launched at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi also aims at encouraging cycling as for daily commute as a means to attaining healthy lifestyles.
The festival comes at a time when emerging evidence has shown that the air pollution levels in Nairobi, as with other East African urban areas, are at unhealthy levels.
“Cycling has proved to be an effective and Covid-secure way of moving while reducing carbon emissions, air pollution, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle,” said Harrison.
“We hope to spark a conversation on how we can best work together to build greener, cleaner cities through cycling and alternative means of transportation, while at the same time avoiding and preventing traffic accidents,” he added.
Present during the fagging off ceremony was the National Transport and safety Authority (NTSA) Director General, George Njao, who stated that the Authority’s focus is to ensure all road users are safe within their preferred modes of transport.
“The partnership with the European Union and Africa Extreme Limited resonates well with the “Usalama Barabarani Programme” that is currently under implementation in six counties,” he noted.
Further he added the Festival which coincides with the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDR), a global event that seeks to commemorate those who lost their lives on our roads, will provide an opportunity to increase public awareness on road traffic crashes and its impact on individuals, families, and communities.
The theme for this year’s WDR is: ACT for LOW SPEEDS.
“We are committed to working various stakeholders to develop and implement interventions that will ultimately address the challenges and improve road safety in Kenya,” said Njao.
Kenya has over time reported a high number of road traffic deaths with the National Traffic Commandant Mary Omari, announcing in September that a total 3,212 people had been killed in road accidents since beginning of the year 2021. The number of deaths represented an alarming increase of 652 victims as compared to the same period in 2020.
-Motorcycle-related road traffic crashes-
A 2021 study by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network, in partnership with the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS), revealed that in Nairobi 2.27 million trips per day are made by walking, and 55,000 by cycling.
Many people walk and cycle to work, largely due to low-income levels and a lack of available alternatives. Pedestrians and cyclists are faced with several challenges in their Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) journies: from traffic accidents, lack of green spaces and pollution, to muggings, congestion, a lack of footpaths and cycle lanes, and encroachment upon their designated lanes.
The majority of these challenges are safety- or infrastructure-related.
NMT users account for 66.3 per cent of traffic fatalities in Nairobi.
Pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users, accounting for 64.5 per cent of fatalities in Nairobi while cyclists account for 1.8 per cent of these fatalities.
The study also reveals 88.3 per cent of all fatalities are males. Further investigations reveal that 10 roads in Nairobi account for 55.5 per cent of all fatalities.
Private cars, followed by Public Service Vehicles (PSVs), are leading causes of accidents, many of which occur on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Factors that contribute to these accidents include speeding, careless driving and careless pedestrian crossing, lack of pedestrian crossings and poor lighting, among others.
Road Safety Global Trainer, Owuor Otet, noted that number of motor cyclists deaths has reduced in Nairobi. He attributed the reduction to the Usalama Barabarani Program launched two years ago which saw a boost in road safety awareness.
However, he noted the number of motor cyclists hospitalized due to road traffic incidents by PSVs is reported on a weekly basis, of which he called on the NTSA to involve them in their Training’s and campaigns to ensure a peaceful coexistence on the roads.
“Prior to the usalama barabarani program, in a month 3-4 cyclists would die on our roads within Nairobi, with the country wide figures lacking due to many not reporting the incidents,” he noted.
One of the organizers of the City Festival on Wheels campaign — Africa Extreme’s David Kinjah — noted that the event will provide an opportunity to reflect on Climate Change from the perspective of reducing emissions by adapting low environmental footprint modes of transport, like cycling in cities.
“We take care of the homes we live in, but as humans, we are not doing enough to take care of the earth as our home. We can draw inspiration from cycling cities such as Paris, Germany, Sweden and Denmark among others, for Nairobi.”
The City Festival on Wheels event brought together several categories of wheels – from amateur skaters, junior cyclists to the elite group, which featured professional cyclists.
The event also provided an opportunity for fun and competition, while at the same time placing focus on cycling as an alternative form of transport that is affordable, environmentally friendly and healthy.
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