An Improved Harare : Traffic
Harare is a huge mess, trying to cross the city during peak hours is a nightmare that will haunt you for days. Even in other non peak hours its still a hustle trying to go from 4th Street to Rotten Row. There is need for some fundamental changes in how Harare is run and structured to ensure the City becomes more efficient and more pleasing.
Harare is the biggest and most populous City in Zimbabwe, its more than 5 times bigger than the second City Bulawayo. Given how the city has been structured one can clearly see that it has surpassed it's limit, it no longer can hold the population and the traffic that follows. The Harare City council can no longer provide adequate enough resources to service its residents, there are chronic water shortages all over the city, whenever one builds a house they have to have a borehole, you will see green water tanks suspended upon various stands all over the city. The city is also not able to keep the suburbs clean, there is refuse everywhere, some people with lorries are even offering residents to pick up their refuge as the city council can no longer service the whole city in time. There have been some serious disease outbreaks in the city, especially the southern suburbs and ghettos, due to lack of clean water and refuge being dumped in unplanned areas. I can go on and on about Harare but if you have visited the city you can agree with me that change has to happen now or the city will become highly undesirable.
On my previous article brought about an idea that will help decentralize power and duties for Harare by Moving the Capital City to Gweru. I believe that will remove the Political and Administration pressures that Harare faces and lets the city concentrate on being the Financial Capital of Zim. I have heard there were plans of moving the Capital City to Mt Hampden, the plan sounds good but I feel it will not be as effective due to its closeness to the current capital hence the problems that plague the current capital will in no time start affecting the new capital. Moving to Gweru in my opinion will bring about more benefits to the Nation as a whole (a centrally located capital, ethnic inclusion...etc.)
Harare is the biggest and most populous City in Zimbabwe, its more than 5 times bigger than the second City Bulawayo. Given how the city has been structured one can clearly see that it has surpassed it's limit, it no longer can hold the population and the traffic that follows. The Harare City council can no longer provide adequate enough resources to service its residents, there are chronic water shortages all over the city, whenever one builds a house they have to have a borehole, you will see green water tanks suspended upon various stands all over the city. The city is also not able to keep the suburbs clean, there is refuse everywhere, some people with lorries are even offering residents to pick up their refuge as the city council can no longer service the whole city in time. There have been some serious disease outbreaks in the city, especially the southern suburbs and ghettos, due to lack of clean water and refuge being dumped in unplanned areas. I can go on and on about Harare but if you have visited the city you can agree with me that change has to happen now or the city will become highly undesirable.
On my previous article brought about an idea that will help decentralize power and duties for Harare by Moving the Capital City to Gweru. I believe that will remove the Political and Administration pressures that Harare faces and lets the city concentrate on being the Financial Capital of Zim. I have heard there were plans of moving the Capital City to Mt Hampden, the plan sounds good but I feel it will not be as effective due to its closeness to the current capital hence the problems that plague the current capital will in no time start affecting the new capital. Moving to Gweru in my opinion will bring about more benefits to the Nation as a whole (a centrally located capital, ethnic inclusion...etc.)
Now after we have moved the capital city to Gweru there are many policies and ideas that have to be implemented to clean up and revitalize Harare. There are many issues that need to be addressed when it comes to Harare namely: Traffic, Accommodation, Basic Services (water, refuse collection, roads), administration (city council)...etc. On this article will only be concentrating on the the issue of traffic.
Traffic
If you have driven across the city of Harare recently then you know the city is a mess, such a journey tests even the experienced of drivers. There are hooters and people shouting at every intersection, traffic lights seem to mean nothing these days that is if they are working given the load-shedding, give way sings are largely ignored, kombis and taxis do what they want. Its a nightmare.Now the ZUPCO buses were also added into the already massively congested kombi ranks, its complete madness and chaos.There is need to rethink how the Harare is structured and organized in order to ease the congestion issues. The main ultimate goal is to convince many to prefer public transportation to using their own personal cars. That goal is achievable but its a mountain of a task especially given where we are as a nation but nonetheless its feasible. To reach that ultimate goal there is need to craft smaller policies that will change the perception of the masses towards the use of public transportation. On this article have came up with a few ideas that can be implemented to start the journey to the ultimate goal.
When the issue of traffic congestion comes up one of the most obvious suggestions will be to widen the roads but there is no more space to widen the roads so that in not feasible. The Harare City Council to an extend has realized this problem and they have employed the strategy of raising parking fees as a way to control traffic in the CBD and also as a way to raise funds. The strategy works well on the raising of funds but not so much on the congestion reduction side, it only deals with those who will want to park in the CBD but not the traffic that passes through the CBD. With many people now affording to buy a car due to the rise of companies such as BeForward, SBTJapan, Trade CarView... the situation is not going to get any better so there is need to act on this urgently. I have to admit that making everyone prefer to use public transportation is impossible but if there are sound policies we can get close to perfection.
Below are a number of strategies that I feel the ministry of local governance and Harare City council can implement to ease the congestion the City faces and make it a desirable destination.
1. No Car Zone. One move the City Council can take is to create a no-car zone around the central parts of the City. Harare is massively populated and the majority of that population traverses across the city center on a regular basis. Daily thousands of pedestrians and vehicles cross the CBD. The mix of pedestrians and vehicles makes it a scary task crossing the city especially during peak hours (Try using Robert Mugabe to walk or drive from Rotten Row to 4th street.). There is need to create car free zones which are safe for pedestrians to cross without the fear of getting hassled by vehicle drivers.
Currently there is only car free "sort of " zone in the City which is First Street. However it has several major streets passing through it so that defeats the purpose. I would suggest that the city council close the whole area in between Simon Muzenda/Fourth Street, Kenneth Kaunda, Julius Nyerere and Samora Machel. Such a move will greatly improve the appeal of the CBD de-congesting the middle of the city whilst at the same time creating a human friendly environment. The wide roads can be used as pathways for pedestrians and they can be furnished with trees, flowers and benches making the whole zone more appealing. Kombis which use the Charge Office rank will only move from the rank onto Kenneth Kaunda only.
For fast food restaurants and supermarkets that are located in this area and need constant deliveries, there is need to schedule deliveries so that all of them are made early in the morning before many people start their business.
Closing the area mentioned above will not affect any pedestrians as all the bus ranks are located outside of that region.
Benefits of a Car Free Zone:
- This will clear and clean up the central part of the city making the area more desirable and safe to walk in. Those who work in the CBD will enjoy the reduction in noise pollution.
- To cater for those who may want to traverse quickly past the area bike sharing systems can be used in the area. In simplified terms its a system where a person can rent/borrow a bicycle from one side of the town use it to travel within a certain area and leave it at another selected area nearby to where one's journey ends. ( Bike Sharing Systems (PDF) , New Generation of Bike-Sharing Systems in China Lessons for European Cities)
- The existing roads will be turned into wide pavements which will be furnished with benches, flowers, trees to allow an environment where people can sit and chat. The vegetation will also allow the air in the CBD to improve and help lower stress for those working and walking past the area.
Challenges of a Car Free Zone:
- The move will now push all the cars into the non restricted areas of the city and there will be massive congestion in the outer part of the town. To counter this there head on to my second idea.
2 A Controlled System. The above no car zone if implemented alone will de-congest the no car zone but congest other parts of the city especially the areas left of Julias Nyerere. To counter that there is need to refurbish our main ranks and create a system in which kombis and buses use ONLY the rank area. The City council "has been trying to rectify this" but their efforts have been highly questionable. The public transportation system used to be so effective and efficient, I
remember a time when you would not find Kombis everywhere but in the
rank so such a system is very feasible. Given the increase in
population, another rank is however required. There were talks of
constructing another one after rotten row on the African Unity Square,
that would be a solid idea, to ensure all areas are covered with the
public transportation ranks.
A strict enforcement is required to ensure public transport operators oblige. The responsible transport authorities together with the Harare city council have to ensure every public transport vehicle is registered with them.No kombi or bus must operate without registering, this can help eradicate bad behavior among the drivers and ensure every organization will be held accountable for the actions of its drivers and vehicles. Another seemingly small suggestion is having one uniform color for all public transportation vehicles, I believe it will create a distinct identity which can help all public transport users.
A strict enforcement is required to ensure public transport operators oblige. The responsible transport authorities together with the Harare city council have to ensure every public transport vehicle is registered with them.No kombi or bus must operate without registering, this can help eradicate bad behavior among the drivers and ensure every organization will be held accountable for the actions of its drivers and vehicles. Another seemingly small suggestion is having one uniform color for all public transportation vehicles, I believe it will create a distinct identity which can help all public transport users.
The illegal mshikshikas need to be eliminated all together in favour of a structured taxi system. Again there used to be a clear definition of a taxi when I was growing up before the system became a mess and that can be achieved again also. I believe there is no way we can create order at the ranks in the absence of a solid strategy and effecting sound policies to control the transport industry as a whole. The issue does however not end on strategy but the set polices have to be implemented to near perfection, there should be transparency and accountability ensuring no one transport company gets special treatment, there is need to ensure order and procedure is valued above self interests
3. More Transportation Choices. This is an addition to the above idea, when we have perfectly laid out and controlled ranks there is now need to ensure there are adequate vehicles to cater for the masses. One of the biggest ways to persuade many to use public transportation is the availability of effective and efficient modes of public transportation. There is need to diversify the modes of transportation, give the people choice according to their income. We already have kombis whom for years have been the only way for public transportation for short distances. Due to public outcry the government has intervened and resurrected the ZUPCO buses (which are still very few, more buses are needed), the options however should not end there I suggest passenger trains be resuscitated. Harare has seen a huge growth in the past years and its still growing so there is need to increase volumes in all these modes of transportation to be able to serve the population effectively.
The authorities must ensure that there is a constant and reliable service for people of all income levels. Rich folks can use the now organized taxi system which can be tailored to one's needs. The other lower classes can chose between Kombis, Buses or trains depending on their current needs and financial standing.
3. More Transportation Choices. This is an addition to the above idea, when we have perfectly laid out and controlled ranks there is now need to ensure there are adequate vehicles to cater for the masses. One of the biggest ways to persuade many to use public transportation is the availability of effective and efficient modes of public transportation. There is need to diversify the modes of transportation, give the people choice according to their income. We already have kombis whom for years have been the only way for public transportation for short distances. Due to public outcry the government has intervened and resurrected the ZUPCO buses (which are still very few, more buses are needed), the options however should not end there I suggest passenger trains be resuscitated. Harare has seen a huge growth in the past years and its still growing so there is need to increase volumes in all these modes of transportation to be able to serve the population effectively.
The authorities must ensure that there is a constant and reliable service for people of all income levels. Rich folks can use the now organized taxi system which can be tailored to one's needs. The other lower classes can chose between Kombis, Buses or trains depending on their current needs and financial standing.
3. RoadPort Relocation. The current road port is no-longer in any way sufficient to handle the demand, it needs to be relocated. Have heard that a new road-port is being constructed in Mbare which is a commendable idea but I have question about whether there is enough space for a standard road-port which is now required, we do not need a stop gap measure this time around. I suggest using half of the huge Africa Unity Square should be set aside to build a standard road-port, one which can not only handle the current demand but one which can continue handling demand for the next 20plus years. I may not know the City plans for the area but for the past 15plus years that area has not been used for anything significant save for a few bus and lorry driving companies that currently use the space for their lessons and the occasional rally or carnival party.
Traffic between Zimbabwe and neighboring countries is on the increase and given the population growth its going to increase so this needs to be done right, decision must now be done with adequate foresight and not just looking at the current volumes.
Traffic between Zimbabwe and neighboring countries is on the increase and given the population growth its going to increase so this needs to be done right, decision must now be done with adequate foresight and not just looking at the current volumes.
4. Congestion Pricing. This can seem too forward/optimistic given where we are as a nation but its an alternative idea to the Car Free Zone idea above. If we cannot close of roads in the CBD then we should ensure those who use the roads in the peak hours are taxed for doing so or pay a price for doing so. Currently the city council is using parking fees as a way to curb congestion but as highlighted before it only controls those who wish to park in the CBD, it does not regulate the overall volume of traffic in the streets. A lot of the traffic will not be directly coming from the CBD but from the industries, surburbs around the CBD so Congestion Pricing will now ensure everyone who uses their car on certain roads during peak hour should pay a fee. This will now push people to either find other routes, which is strenuous or just use public transportation.
Congestion Tax is still causing debate among many nations worldwide, even the developed countries have not mastered the concept but it has worked for cities such as London and in countries such as Singapore so with proper planning this can work. The best example of this policy working is from Singapore (Lessons Learnt From Congestion Pricing In Singapore), Read more on the topic: Congestion Pricing NYC, Age Of Congestion-pricing, Five Cities With Congestion Pricing.
Conclusion:
These are not al the ideas that can be implemented but I believe the few I have shared can make a difference. Harare used to be the Sunshine City, one of the cleanest Cities in Africa so that alone tells me it not impossible to clean up the city again. A lot has been overlooked, administrations became incompetent, laws stopped being enforced, corruption and self interest took over leading to the decay of the city, however those issues can be resolved and the city can resurrect again. There is need for a culture shift from the top, from the Ministry of Local Governance down to the city council worker who sweeps the streets, and to all the residents of Harare, progression has to be the goal. Most of these ideas I shared above have to be done simultaneously for them to bear fruit, so a collective effort is needed from all sectors, including us the public.
Yours Truly
A Zimbo Who Loves Innovation
Hichiooo
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