Kenya urged to prioritise safe streets for walking and cycling

Established by the United Nations in 2018, World Bicycle Day provides a global platform for reflecting on sustainable transport systems, safer streets, healthier communities, and inclusive urban development.

In Kenya, active mobility is not a future aspiration but a present reality. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) 2023/24 Kenya Housing Survey Basic Report, walking remains the dominant mode of transport to work, with 72.7% of Kenyans walking to work, including 53.4% in urban areas and 82.5% in rural areas.

In Nairobi, active mobility studies show that walking and cycling account for nearly half of daily trips. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) further reports that approximately 45% of Nairobi residents walk for their daily trips, with many others relying on non-motorized transport to connect to public transport systems.

These figures highlight a clear policy reality: Kenya is already a walking and cycling nation. However, pedestrians and cyclists remain disproportionately vulnerable due to road systems that are still largely designed to prioritize motorized transport, often with limited provision for safe walking and cycling infrastructure.

Non-motorized transport remains under-prioritized in road planning, budgeting and enforcement across many towns and cities. 

Pedestrians frequently contend with narrow or missing footpaths, unsafe crossings, inadequate lighting, encroached walkways, and intersections that expose them to fast-moving traffic. Cyclists, meanwhile, often lack any protected space entirely, even in school zones, markets, residential areas, trading centres, and near essential services such as hospitals.

The risk is increasing as urbanisation accelerates and motorcycles become a dominant form of last-mile transport. 

The World Bank estimates that Kenya’s urban population rose from 26.7% in 2015 to 31.9% in 2024. At the same time, data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Economic Survey 2026 indicates that motorcycle and auto-cycle registrations more than doubled in one year, rising from 118,308 in 2024 to 241,763 in 2025.

Natasha Lulia, a Road Safety Expert with the Kenya Red Cross, explained that while this shift has improved access and livelihoods, it has also increased the number of vulnerable road users sharing already constrained urban roads. Stakeholders argue that this makes speed management in urban areas more critical than ever.

“Where pedestrians, cyclists, boda boda riders, and motor vehicles interact closely, speed must be managed according to risk,” the statement notes. “A blanket 50 km/h limit is too high for streets with mixed traffic and high pedestrian activity,” she said.

Natasha highlights that reduction to 30 km/h in high-risk urban areas is a practical road safety reform aligned with global best practice. “Lower speeds reduce stopping distances, increase reaction time, and significantly reduce the severity of injuries in the event of a crash — often making the difference between life and death for pedestrians and cyclists,” she stated.

The proposal aligns with the Safe System approach, which recognises that human error is inevitable, but road systems should be designed so that such errors do not result in death or serious injury. Within this framework, responsibility is shared across policymakers, road authorities, designers, and enforcement agencies.

Nairobi County’s own planning frameworks reflect growing recognition of these needs. The Nairobi City County Integrated Development Plan (2023–2027) reports the construction of 70 kilometres of walkways in the previous planning period and sets out further targets for footpaths, zebra crossings, and traffic calming measures such as speed bumps.

However, stakeholders caution that progress must be sustained and expanded. Across urban areas, non-motorized transport infrastructure remains fragmented and uneven, often treated as an add-on to road projects rather than essential public infrastructure. This undermines safety and inclusivity, particularly for children, older persons, and persons with disabilities.

The Pan-African Action Plan for Active Mobility reinforces this direction, calling on African countries to mainstream walking, cycling, and other forms of non-motorized transport into transport planning, investment, and governance systems.

Natasha reiterated that Kenya’s challenge is not to generate demand for active mobility, but to make it safe. She calls for the strengthening of Section 42 of the Traffic Act to enable 30 km/h speed limits in high-risk urban areas, supported by safer road design, traffic calming measures, consistent enforcement, and expanded non-motorized transport infrastructure.

Natasha concluded, “Reducing speed limits in high-risk urban areas is a practical and evidence-based step toward safer, more inclusive mobility. It is a necessary complement to investments in walking and cycling infrastructure and a critical measure for protecting all road users.”