A section of residents and businesspeople in Thika and its outskirts have recently been complaining about the increased traffic jam into and from Thika town.
One of the residents raised the alarm saying that it is taking them more than 30 minutes to drive from Thika superhighway to the Thika CBD, a distance which should take at most three minutes.
Samson Kimemia, a commuter from Witeithie estate of Juja Sub County said the traffic has even made the Matatu operators hike the fares.
“We have been paying 10 shillings or 20 shillings to Thika town but since the traffic started to be a problem, the fares have hiked to 30 and sometimes they charge 50 shillings,” complained Kimemia.
He added that the county government should introduce traffic lights in the town to make sure that traffic is controlled and motorists enjoy their driving along the county roads.
“I enjoy very much to travel in Nairobi because the lights make traffic easier and motorists can easily manoeuvre in town without much difficulty,” added the commuter.
They said that the traffic can be attributed to the deteriorating state of roads and lack of enough traffic officers especially during the rush hours.
However the residents are optimistic that the traffic is going to ease up when the construction of the road comes to an ends.
The county government through its sub county administrator Rose Kimani and county executive for roads Njeri Gatabaki have talked to the residents asking them to be patient as the county government repairs the roads in the town. This is as they wait for Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) to repair the roads fully.
This comes just a few days after the county government started the strategy to curb traffic jam in the town by expanding Kibiro road which starts from Gatitu junction to Kenyatta highway roundabout in Thika down town.