Potholes in city centre puncture Nakuru's image
A pothole near the disaster management offices in Nakuru city centre is a nuisance to motorists.
When you look at the ideal city plan of Nakuru city, the model structure gives a well-planned out city outlook with beautiful green spaces that standout. Contributing more to the perfect outlook are the well-marked tarmacked roads.
However, as a city, the roads are part of what residents feel should be looked into.
While the roads are supposed to create a harmonious balance between mobility, safety, and sustainability, some of the roads within the city do not offer this.
As we walk around the city centre, streets like Kenyatta Avenue give a representation of what is in the model, but most connected streets do not. Potholes and flooding streets in the city kill the aesthetic feel of Nakuru as a city.
Our observation of roads serving the city starts at the Pinkam roundabout close to Mashambani stage where Irene Njeri notes the area floods when it rains making it hard for pedestrians to comfortably walk around.
She notes when conversations around the state of roads are brought up, motorists are the priority whereas pedestrians are forgotten.
"If the streets have poor drainage this affects how we walk around town. The city centre has a lot of surface runoff. The question is when will conversations that look into the pedestrians needs in regards to road structure come up? " she asks.
Irene says areas like KFA round about stretching all the way near Mache are problematic, not forgetting the notorious runoff around Eveready.
Mtaa Wangu has observed that on the stretch to Nasha Market from Mburu Gichua road, a large pothole sits on the road.
Some of the potholes as you approach Nasha Market from Mburu Gichua road.
It is now filled with stones to reduce the impact on cars as they drive on the pothole.
Another stretch is Kenyatta Lane which has several potholeswith one adjacent to the disaster management office.
In an interview with the Nakuru boda-boda chairman, Stephen Wanyonyi he acknowledges that while some of the roads within the city centre are in good shape, those connecting the city to estates and industrial area are not in great shape.
Nakuru boda boda chairman Steve Wanyonyi during an interview on October 4, 2024.
Mr. Wanyonyi says in instances where thugs are targeting boda boda riders at night, they hide near a pothole knowing that when you approach the spot you have to slow down.
“The potholes may seem few but their existence is threatening our income, especially riders who work at night. The situation is made even worse because these roads lack street lights so you can’t tell much about the area you are riding towards,” he notes.
Pointing out congestion within the city centre, he notes that the streets are increasingly becoming problematic to navigate.
He notes that with an increase of boda bodas, those in the matatu industry, those commuting on personal vehicles and the parking space in town, the streets are shrinking, unable to match the growing number of automobiles on the road.
“I am seeing the need for some streets to be expanded to accommodate the growing population accessing the city. Another thing is working on the parking space issue because they make the street space even smaller,” he notes.
Lastly, Wanyonyi recommends that drainage within the city be worked on because the run off hugely contributes to the roads getting damaged.
“Look at roads around pyrethrum, they are well developed but the area gets a lot of debris on the road after it rains, making it a bit difficult to use some of the roads there when it is raining,” he notes.