NAIROBI, Kenya, May 19 — Normalcy has resumed along Waiyaki Way near the Westlands round about following a huge traffic jam experienced by motorists when Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) blocked the road for the better part of Thursday morning.
The snarl-up was reported after PSV operators blocked the road to protest the removal of a bus stop by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to clear an entry into the Nairobi Expressway.
Nairobi traffic commandant Joshua Omukata told journalists Thursday that they will hold talks with transport operators and other stakeholders to find a long-lasting solution to address the problem which he said has been a challenge for a long period.
While appealing for calm, Omukata who held a brief discussion with the PSV operators assured them that their grievances will be resolved as soon as possible urging them to find better ways of airing their grievances without necessarily blocking the roads, a move he said inconveniences other innocent citizens.
“Today we have had quite a big problem and the traffic snarls have gone too far away beyond Kabete just because of this matter that we would have sat down and be able to sort it out,” Omukata said.
“In this case therefore am urging all to be patient, let us get back to the table with all players concerned so that we are able to sort out this problem once and for all.”
The Nairobi traffic police boss noted that no one was apprehended as a result of the demos adding that six vehicles had been impounded.
Omukata said that the vehicles will be released once they establish the circumstances under which they were impounded.
Nelson Mwangi, Chairman of Super Metro bus operating company told Capital FM News that there was no public participation when the Nairobi Expressway was being designed noting that they did not know where the bus stops will be set up.
Mwangi said that they decided to take to the streets when some of their drivers were harassed by police officers Wednesday evening.
He added that operators were shocked when they learned that there were no designated places for picking and dropping of passengers upon the completion of the Expressway.
“For about 30 km from Kikuyu to Town there is no area with a single vehicle stop. Westlands is a very big town with a huge population yet there is no place where we can pick or drop our passengers,” he said.
Another operator, Stanley Mugweru, said that they have been having endless cases with police over the picking and dropping of passengers calling on KeNHA to assign them a designated stage in Westlands to avoid the repeat of the same in future.
KeNHA has since began plans to set up a temporary vehicle stop in place of the once that existed on the area where Waiyaki Way joins the Nairobi Expressway.
