Mombasa-terminus-station. [Photo/westfm.co.ke]
Mombasa County Commissioner Evans Achoki has announced new measures to ease traffic congestion that is causing misery to users of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Madaraka Express.
Addressing a stakeholders meeting on Friday, the county boss acknowledged that gridlocks are making it hard for travelers to access the train terminus but assured that the situation will be urgently addressed as holidaymakers flock the coastal city ahead of December holidays.
“All the cargo trucks leaving the port of Mombasa are required to keep left and the marshals will be in place to direct traffic,” he said, adding that a 24-hour recovery, towing and emergency breakdown services would be on the roadsides.
Achoki said more Traffic Police and County Traffic Marshals will also be deployed to enforce the new measures to try to cut congestions around the Makupa-Kibarani-Changamwe roundabouts. SGR liaison officer Sam Ngeti said the bad condition of the roads leading to the Miritini SGR station and the recent rains have compounded the travelers’ misery.
“The SGR trains are fully booked but the commuters have problems accessing the Miritini Station and some miss their train ride to Nairobi,” he said. Ngeti said the SGR has arranged for the Public Service Vehicles to pick passengers from the Central Business District to the main Station but the buses often arrive late because of the traffic jam on the way.
The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) regional officer Joseph Makori said the situation is aggravated by trucks parking along the roads due to a shortage of parking space in the coastal city.
“Between 4,000 and 5,000 trucks ply the Mombasa-Nairobi Highway daily. This has led to a shortage of parking space in Mombasa,” he said, adding that the situation forces drivers of the heavy duty vehicles to park on road shoulders contributing to the daily monster traffic jam.