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KCCA to build Shs63b traffic control tower
An Artistic Impression of the Kampala Capital City Authority Traffic Control Tower. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
- The project aims at easing movement to and out of the capital city, which currently grapples with jam during the peak hours and in the rainy seasons.
Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has secured a grant of JPY2.44 billion (about Shs63 billion) from the Japanese government to help the authority tackle traffic jam.
According to a press statement issued by KCCA yesterday, some of the major interventions that would be undertaken to ease traffic flow include; the establishment of a traffic control centre at City Hall, signalisation of up to 27 junctions and the removal of five roundabouts.
The roundabouts include Rwenzori Courts, Grand Imperial, Mulago, Mulago Mortuary and Kubiri.
KCCA said the project is a Japanese traffic control system named Management of Origin-Destination Related Adaptation for Traffic Optimisation (MODERATO).
“MODERATO will lead to the operationalisation of the traffic control centre and signalisation of junctions’ project, aimed at curbing the menacing challenge of traffic congestion, into, within and out of the City’s Central Business District,” the statement read in part.
The statement added: “This is part of the technical cooperation project named “The Project for Capacity Enhancement of KCCA in Management of Traffic Flow in Kampala City” launched between KCCA and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2015.””
The groundbreaking ceremony for the traffic control centre took place in November last year.
How the centre will operate
The centre is a three-storey building where the basement and ground floor will be used as parking and storage spaces for about 12 cars, eight motorcycles while the traffic control centre function is placed in the first and second floors.
In the control room, a large monitor shall be installed, which is placed on the top floor. This room shall be fitted with access control technology using contactless cards. There is a waiting room for traffic police closely positioned in case of VIP support and disaster management.
There is also a space that can accommodate a maximum of 30 people, on the top floor, where people can tour the control room and be educated on traffic rules and manners through videos showing examples of traffic signals, traffic signs and traffic accidents.
MODERATO will also function as a traffic information collection and provision system and is the nucleus of the integrated traffic control system which is part of the universal traffic management system.
The KCCA Executive Director, Ms Dorothy Kisaka, said the project is part of the authority’s campaign of prompting a smart city for all.
“We are building a smart city, a transformational initiative focusing on enhancing service delivery, improving the efficiency of our systems and services and propelling KCCA towards the achievement of its strategic plan,” she said.
Ms Kisaka added: This traffic control centre and streamlining of traffic flow is yet another of the various examples of leveraging technology twinned with infrastructure for our people’s wellbeing.”
A 2021 study by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung found that traffic and congestion remain significant concerns for people living and working in Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area.
The study, titled ‘The Political Economy of Public Transport in Greater Kampala’, noted that traffic gridlock and congestion in Kampala that spill into the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area are by far, the most significant issues that concern city-dwellers when it comes to everyday urban problems.
The Chairperson of Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA), Mr Thadeus Musoke Nagenda, welcomed the development.
“That initiative is overdue. We have been complaining about traffic because it negatively impacts the cost of doing business. The duration you take when you are travelling from one place is so costly. Addressing the challenge of traffic jam should be handled with the urgency it deserves,” Mr Musoke said.
He said KCCA should also construct more flyovers to ease traffic flow within the city centre.
Mercy Ampaire, a student of City High School who commutes from home in Namuwongo, a Kampala suburb, said the initiative should make it easy for learners like to travel and to cross different roads.
“On a bad day, it takes me three hours to travel from Namuwongo to my school. Once this problem is addressed, I will not miss early morning lessons,’’ Ampaire said.
