The Will to Wheel

The Will to Wheel

In a country where only 7.7% of Kenyans own cars out of the 50 million, it is important to identify sustainable and affordable alternatives. In addition to the constantly increasing population of citizens living in urban areas, sustainability and effective means of transport are a priority. For instance, in Nairobi, there is a population of 5.5 million. With this population and majority of them depending on public means for their daily commute, cycling comes in handy.

Cycling brings many benefits that touch on people, environment, infrastructure and economic well-being. It is estimated that, by replacing 10% of the cars in Nairobi with bicycles, it could reduce over 150 metric tons of CO2 per day. This alone, improves the quality of air in the city significantly hence leading to reduction of chronic diseases and mortality rates. Other co-benefits will include a healthy workforce that will contribute positively to the environment.

On the other hand, cycling contributes to developmental values leading to economic savings. This factors in efficiency that comes in with infrastructure costs, basically cycling infrastructure is more cost-effective than roads meant for vehicles. Besides, on planning, cycling offers space efficiency and as bicycles can accommodate up to 10 times more people than cars reducing congestion and saving on time.

To effectively achieve some, or all benefits on the higher side, investment on effective policies, structures, governance and infrastructure have to be put in place. Kenya has been making strides in promoting cycling as a sustainable and accessible mode of transport. Through both the national and sub national government institutions, major strategies are being put in place. There has been a significant rise in campaigns, initiatives, organizations and institutions supporting and promoting cycling and its benefits. 

Consequently, development of cycling lanes has to be established in order to ensure safety of riders and encourage more people to join in. The initiatives make the city more bicycle friendly. This however, has to be backed by Non-Motorized Transport policy that will recognize and integrate cycling into the transportation planning. This will ensure the cycling lanes are constantly being improved on infrastructure and overall cycling facilities.

NMS to Build Pedestrian and Cycling Lanes in Nairobi Estates in Sh1.4  Billion Project | Mwakilishi.com

Most importantly, advocacy and raising awareness by environmental organizations needs to be enhanced. This will not only demystify cycling as a sport only but also as an emission reduction strategy. This will add onto the number of people cycling and campaigns on cycling. Through this, policy makers will also prioritize NMT policies and its embedment into national policies. The transition to non-motorized transit systems is progressive and with co-benefits all round, The overall sustainability index for the country will rise, adding to our contribution to national environmental policies.

 

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