By Joseph Kamau Waweru
A section of residents in Eldoret wants the national and the Uasin Gishu County Government to enhance the road network in the town before it is conferred city status.
Stakeholders in the transport sector in the town led by boda boda operators claim regular traffic jams in the town centre need to be addressed through the construction of new roads and improvement of the existing ones.
“In terms of our roads, they are very few and this is causing traffic jams. We therefore request for the addition of more roads and if possible, a bypasses within the town centre,” said Ben Kirui, a boda boda operator.
According to Kirui, the roads should be enhanced and improved to a modern and more convenient state before the town acquires city status.
In addition, the residents called for the introduction of more Town Service Vehicles lamenting that most of those offering the for the town dwellers are in bad condition.
Dead-end roads
“Before the conferment of Eldoret town to city status, we would like the government to look upon improving our transport service providers since some vehicles such as some in Kitwek Sacco are in an unworthy state,” said a resident who sought anonymity.
Another resident also complained of too many dead-end roads in the town which she noted the government need to work on and ensure that they enhance the connectivity of various estates in contrary to their current state.
In recent years, Eldoret has been witnessing massive transformation in infrastructure with several new roads and buildings being constructed.
The city status push is already before the Senate, with Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii recently asking Senators to work on completing the process before the upcoming Devolution Conference.
Eldoret will be hosting the conference in mid-August this year.
