•Former Lunar park will be converted to a bus termini to host matatus using Lang'ata Road
City commuters should expect to be dropped outside the CBD as plans to decongest the city centre slowly picks up.
Projects to decongest the city have kicked off in earnest with those occupying land meant for public parking spaces given notice to vacate.
Matatus will be barred from the city centre as from November in plans by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services to decongest the CBD.
The plans commenced last week when police raided the iconic Lunar Park, located next to Uhuru Park in the morning hours and demolished car yards at the premises.
The park which was once filled with fun activities will be designated to host a bus terminus. All matatus from Ngong Road and Langata road will have their designated stage at the area. They will not be allowed into the CBD.
Commuters from Nairobi’s populous Eastlands area and those using Jogoo Road and Ladhies Road will be alighting and boarding their matatus at Muthurwa.
More than 350 Muthurwa estate tenants will be forced to relocate to a new residence to pave way for the estate’s redevelopment.
This follows a notice that was issued on Friday last week by the Kenya Railways Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme. The tenants were given 24 hours to vacate.
“You are hereby notified to vacate the premises described above within 24 hours from September 18 at 5pm. Be warned that this land belongs to the Kenya Railways Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme and we have no tenancy agreement with any occupants in the area. We shall take no responsibility for any loss incurred at the expiry of the time allocated,” the notice reads.
It was signed by Kenya Railways Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme acting CEO Pharis Ngotho.
The project is funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), GIBB International, Nairobi City County and Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) is said to have been dragged since 2010.
It was to affect 18 blocks in the estate, with the scheme providing 5.4 acres of the estate.
Also to ease traffic flow along Haile Selassie Avenue through to Jogoo Road, an expressway will be constructed from the Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (KPCU) building that will connect the two.
Commuters using Waiyaki Way will terminate their journeys at Globe roundabout.
Last year in October, Nairobi county announced the conversion of the Globe Roundabout into a bus terminus to ease traffic flow.
This would also see the relocation of matatus using Koja/Old Mutual terminus to relocate to the roundabout.
Currently, matatus are using Globe Roundabout as a parking bay.
Matatus from the Thika Superhighway will terminate their journeys at Ngara or the newly completed Parkland terminus. They include those from Kasarani, Zimmerman, Githurai 44 and 45.
Badi said works have already commenced in some of the lands marked for the termini.
On March 18 at State House when NMS was established and handed over to Badi, President Uhuru Kenyatta asked him to operationalise two matatu termini at Desai Road and Park Road in order to avoid the use of city streets as parking bays for matatus.
Early this month, Badi disclosed that all Public Service Vehicles will be barred from the CBD beginning November.