I am sure I am not the only one feeling it.
Kampala’s traffic is becoming increasingly unbearable. Even the removal of
roundabouts around the city seem to have an opposite effect to the intended purpose
of easing traffic flow in the city.
Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has
an ambitious plan of flyovers, underground tunnels and railway transport, which
should help the cause, I hope.
The snarl ups that we are coming fast
accustomed to, are not only an issue of teeth grinding inconvenience but have a
real cost on our economy by hampering and increasing the cost of doing
business.
A recent World Bank report suggests that as
an economy, we are losing about sh3trillion annually due to traffic jams. The
losses come in form of delayed deliveries, higher fuel consumption and the
health consequences of seating in a smoke filled environment.
To put this in perspective this is the
combined budget of the health, agriculture and ICT ministries in this year’s budget.
Or to bring this closer to home, this money could be used to construct 4600 well
equipped secondary schools.
I suspect that if a study was done, there
may be a correlation between our current economic woes and the log jams on our
roads. The logic is simple, the faster we can move people, goods and services
around the more vibrant and productive the economy.
There is enough research to show that while
improving road networks seems the obvious way to reduce traffic jams it is not
effective. In fact studies show that initiatives to widen roads in cities only
meant that the number of cars grew to fill up the extra space – a tendency I
suspect is happening in our Kampala.
In the early 2000s several western cities
including London implemented a congestion tax. The authorities charged any car
driving into the city. The results have been a reduction of up to 20 percent of
cars coming into the city, improvements in public transport, greater use of
bicycles and more funds to invest in the city infrastructure.
I like that this plan hits several birds
with one stone – more revenues for the city, improved infrastructure and public
transport facilities.
From a lay man’s perspective I think we
would be better served by a flyover at the Fairway cross way. At the height of
peak of hour that crossing, which was previously a roundabout has people stuck
there for more than half an hour.
A flyover there which could cost a few
million dollars and could be paid for by a sh100 tax collected through a toll
system or off our fuel over two to three years.
And a reduction in car use in Kampala would
make it easier to plan an effective transport system we so badly need. Bus
lanes will become practical and we can even begin to think about restricting
boda bodas to the surburbs where there will be less of a menace to law abiding
road users.
On an individual level, it would make our
economic decisions of how we use our car ore rationale, as it would not make
sense to drive into town for every small little purchase.
As it is now I have friends who do not even
bother coming into the city center – never on weekdays and barely on weekends.
The businesses in the city are suffering and the ramp up in commercial building
space may be for nothing if current trends continue. It will be futile to collect
money from these property owners. And even if the properties are attached the
new owners will have no better luck.
This is a serious issue and one we should
all look to find a solution sooner or later.
( JULY 2017)
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