Day One of Kampala-Gulu Road Safety Walk
Day one of the Kampala to Gulu #JoeWalker road safety walk kicked off at 6:38 am with State Minister for Transport Hon. Fred Byamukama handing us the National flag at Sheraton Hotel.
Joe Walker with State Minister for Transport Hon. Fred Byamukama and MD of Jubilee Allianz Paul Kavuma
The first thing we saw as soon as we started off was school children cris-crossing Kampala roads to get to school with boda bodas riding in all directions including in opposite directions of one-way roads. They were also carrying school children and in some cases adults too. At the same time a river of adults were streaming into the city from Bwaise.
All through this, one thing was clear, there was human-vehicular conflict on narrow roads primarily designed for ONLY cars.
Joe Walker helping children of Buganda Road Primary School cross the road
As we got to Kawempe it got worse, the road’s shoulders have been eaten away leaving deep trenches, around Kawanda and Matugga. The trucks and taxis literally park in the middle of the road. The market vendors display their merchandise on what would have been pedestrian walkways. And so do the boda bodas waiting for passengers.
Here are quick fixes that can improve this situation:
1. Construct proper secured pedestrian walkways to make the life of pedestrians more secure.
2. Get the market vendors off the road into market stalls and ensure taxis stop to pick and drop passengers at “bus stops”.
3. Get a safe parking lot for good trucks off the road reserves.
4. Proper stages for boda bodas too would make a difference.
5. Climbing lanes for stretches in places like Kawanda and Migadde would enable harmonious use of the road by heavy trucks and other fast moving vehicles given that this is a highway, without tempting impatient drivers into reckless overtaking.
Those are my quick thoughts from my observations on day one on how we can make this road safe and save lives.
We are now docked in Bombo for the night and will continue our road safety awareness Kampala to Gulu walk tomorrow.
