Poor state of Kampala roads impedes non-motorised plan – Lukwago
The Director of Technical Engineering at KCCA, Mr Justus Akankwasa leads a team of cyclists in Kampala on Friday. Photo | Shabibah Nakirigya
What you need to know:
- The statistics from KCCA indicate that cyclists and pedestrians form 94 per cent of accident victims in Kampala.
Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago has revealed that Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has a grand vision for non-motorised transport (NMT) for the entire city but a limited budget constrains them.
Speaking to the Monitor in a phone interview on Friday Mr Lukwago said that much of Kampala’s road network is unpaved which makes the plans to increase cycling lanes, for example, hard to achieve.
“Out of the 2,110 kilometres of roads only 654 are paved and to have cycling in the city, we must pave all the roads to create space for pedestrians and cyclists like it’s done in other cities,’’ he said.
“As an institution, we have that particular goal of promoting non-motorised transport in Kampala to reduce the emissions and improve mobility in the city but the status of the roads is worrying, our budget is always small” he added.
The statistics from KCCA indicate that cyclists and pedestrians form 94 per cent of accident victims in Kampala.
The Director of Technical Engineering at KCCA, Mr Justus Akankwasa said that the non-motorised transport plan is still at the trial level to see which roads are capable of having cycling lanes.
“We want to promote non-motorised transport in Kampala starting with Luwum Street where we have already put NMT corridors but we do not have funds to sensitise people. We urge city dwellers to adopt the system because it’s very healthy and it does not pollute the environment,” he said.
Mr Hakim Owinny, the activation manager of eBee Uganda said that as e-mobility advocates, they are working with city planners to ensure safe cycling and movement for all road users.
“We need to rethink of designing roads which do not cater for vehicles only because promoting cycling is the sustainable means of transport that can inspire sustainable cities,” he said.
