Motorists in Kisumu will be barred from the Central Business District after completion of a non-motorised triangle project worth Sh250 million.
The CBD will be redesigned that no vehicles will be allowed to access Kenyatta Avenue, Oginga Odinga and Ang’awa streets - forming a triangle.
City manager Doris Ombara said World Bank funds will be used to modernise Kisumu into a walking and healthy millennium city.
"In preparation to host the Africities conference in 2021, the project is expected to begin any time after the city board awards the tender to a contractor," Ombara said.
Construction will begin from Kisumu Boys roundabout to KCB roundabout then stretch to Obote Road next to Lwang’ni Beach and the whole of Ang’awa Street which links Oginga Odinga Street and Kenyatta Avenue.
"The project will see the repair of roads, replacement of broken slabs, opening up of the drainage system, beautification of the CBD and installation of road furniture and toilets," she said.
The non-motorised CBD will have lanes for cyclists and pedestrians, Ombara said. The city manager added that parking spaces will be based along Ang’awa Street. This, she said, will help give the city beauty and security.
The project will upgrade the city’s drainage, which was built in the 1930s by colonialists when the population was about 50,000 and now has grown to over one million.
During the heavy rain, Kisumu gets flash floods due to the poor drainage system. Most of the system is broken, blocked and open making it hazardous to the public.
Ombara told those who have encroached on road reserves and sewer lines to move out to allow the city's major facelift.
The project is also aimed at reorganising Kisumu’s lakefronts to boost tourism and enhance Lake Victoria’s blue economy.
The city government has developed a comprehensive programme to address flooding that renders most of the roads impassable due to overflowing drainage.
The most affected residents are those living in informal settlements such as Manyatta, Nyalenda, Obunga and Migosi, which comprise 60 per cent of the population.
Ombara said many houses in flood-prone areas are built on waterways and sewer lines.
