Access to public bus stops
8.3 Sub case 3: Buguruni - upgraded informal settlements
Like Sinza and Kariakoo, all the 35 respondents in Buguruni were asked the same question regarding their perceptions towards the walking environment. The focus was on the connectivity of the walking routes, safety and security needs, accessibility to public facilities including public bus stops and con-venience and attractiveness of the walking environment. The ranking scale also was also maintained to include five levels: Strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree and strongly disagree. Respondents’
responses as follows:
8.3. 1 Lack and blockage of walkways
All the 35 respondents perceived Buguruni settlements as lacking pedestrian walkways. Even where provided, such as along Uhuru and Mandela Road, like in other case studies (i.e.Kariakoo and Sinza) they are blocked by street vending activities and used by cars/motorcycles. When asked whether the pedestrian network in Buguruni-Mnyamani/Madenge are continuous and free from obstructions, all the 27 resident respondents and the 8 pedestrians interviewed, strongly disagreed; implying that the pedestrian network in Buguruni is not smoothly interconnected.
The respondents further observed that the upgraded roads in study areas were not provided with side-walks. Only carriageways for motorized traffic were improved despite being the lower income settle-ments, whereby walking is the mainly means of transport among the majority of the inhabitants. Pe-destrians were often forced to use the limited space with motorised and other non-motorised users. In the areas that were not upgraded most people walk along the narrow and naturally meandering foot-paths (most of which were less than one meter width) and along the railway-lines running through these settlements to the south.
One of the respondents interviewed, Tabu Njika, a 45years, handicapped person, and a vegetable ven-dor in the area explained about the lack of walkways and the encroachment of the existing ones not-ing: “In Buguruni settlements, there are no segregated pedestrian lanes, except some parts along Mandela and Uhuru Roads. Even where they exist, they are often encroached upon by street vendors, parked cars, motorcy-cles and other informal sector activities. For instance, if you pass through the Uhuru and Kalembo Road
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tion, opposite to Hekima Primary School, the walkways are completely blocked by parked motorcycles (Boda-boda) and carpentry activities. Despite the narrow width of the upgraded roads in areas along Mnyamani Road, it is still congested with cars, motorcyclists, try-cyclists, pedestrians, cyclists and pushcarts. We pedestrians have to use the same space with the vehicular traffic; which is very dangerous for us, especially for people with disabilities like me”
The quotation above implies that there were complaints regarding the non-consideration of pedestrian needs along the upgraded access roads as well as the encroachment of the few existing walkways along Mandela and Uhuru Roads by motorists and informal vending activities. A similar situation was observed in other areas (Figure 8.12 and 8.25).
Source: Field observation, February 2015
Figure 8. 25: Obstructed walkways at Uhuru-Karembo junction in Buguruni-Madenge
The situation was not different along Mandela and Mnyamani Road and other major internal access roads within Buguruni settlements. The explanations given by the respondents and problems facing pedestrians in the settlements were vividly clear during the field visits.
Source: Fieldwork in Buguruni-February 2015
Figure 8. 26: Pedestrians using the same space with motorized traffic and using an open area along the railway.
From Figure 8.26 above, it is notable that the lack of pedestrian infrastructure is a serious problem in Buguruni settlements and other settlements within the City.
8.3.2 Dangerous walking environment
The majority of the respondents perceived the walking environment as very dangerous. When asked whether the walking environment was safe, almost all the respondents i.e. 34 out of 35 strongly disa-greed. Figure 8.27 shows the views of the residents and pedestrians regarding the safety of the walk-ing environment in Buguruni upgraded informal settlements.
161 Source: Fieldwor, February 2015
Figure 8. 27: Views of the respondents on safety of the walking environment
Figure 8.27 shows that the majority of the respondents were of the opinion that the walking environ-ment in Buguruni is unsafe. According to them, the problem is attributed to the lack of segregated walkways and managed traffic, especially motorcyclists and drivers of the privately operated public buses. Due to the lack of walkways, pedestrians have to use the same lane with motorized traffic, thereby increasing the risk of being hurt by motorised traffic.
Safety crossing in Buguruni
Crossing along the busy roads in Buguruni such as Mandela, Uhuru and Mnyamani Roads was report-ed to be equally challenging and dangerous, especially school children, people with disabilities and the elderly. To depict the real situation, a respondent Athuman Shabani, a 43 years aged, resident and a security guard cum food vendor in the area, had this to tell: “Walking along the upgraded Mnyamani Road is very dangerous, and many people have been injured and killed. I have also been one among the vic-tims. In July 2014, when crossing the Mnyamani Road to the other side of the road, I was knocked down by a motorcyclist (bodaboda) who did not even stop but disappeared when I fell down. I lost my senses and became unconscious. People thought I was dead. My right-leg was badly injured and I was hospitalized for some days”
The problem of lack of motor traffic safety at road crossing in Buguruni-Mnyamani was also reported by another resident household who witnessed his neighbour being hurt and killed by a motorist. Mr.
Juma Seif, a 32 years old, a vegetable vendor who has lived in Buguruni-Mnyamani for over 15 years noted: “I have lived in Buguruni-Mnyamani for more than fifteen years. My life experience of walking along the Mnyamani Road is that it is dangerous and challenging. In 2013, my neighbour, the late Said Mwinyi Mkuu was hit and killed by a motorcyclist while trying to cross the road. The problem here is that, despite the fact that the Mnyamani Road is very narrow to accommodate all the street users, it is used by many un-managed motor-ized and non-motorised users including pedestrians and street vendors. The upgrading program did not consid-er pedestrians at all, rathconsid-er, motorists wconsid-ere favoured”
Similarly, the school children interviewed at Hekima Primary School complained about safety at the road crossings in Buguruni – Mnyamani & Madenge settlements. They pointed out that it is difficult for them to walk and cross the busy roads like Mandela, Uhuru and Mnyamani on their own. They often request for adults nearby to assist them to cross the busy road. According to the interviewed school children, pedestrians are not given priority at these important crossing points. When asked to explain about the means of transport they use to get to school and the challenges they encountered, Salum Shaban, a 9 years old standard three pupils at the Hekima Primary School narrates: “I live in Mnyamani, but there we do not have any primary school and that is why we are schooling here. In order for me to arrive at school, I always wake-up early in the morning and start my journey by walking through the natural
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meandering footpaths. Thereafter, I shift to the dusty and muddy roads before reaching the Mnyamani Road. At the Mnyamani Road, I walk to the Mandela Highway. Before I reach the school, I must cross the busy Mandela Road. At this crossing, I always stay longer waiting for motorists to stop or a passer-by adult to assist us to cross as we cannot risk crossing on our own”
The school children
directed
their complaints to the road contractors who did not provide pedestrian routes or walkways separated from the vehicular traffic so as to enhance the safety among school children. Furthermore, they blamed the local authority officials of not taking actions against the mo-torists and street vendors who had encroached upon the pedestrian walkways along Uhuru and Man-dela Roads, a situation that made walking not only more complicated but also unsafe.The researcher also observed parents/adults assisting the school children to cross Mandela Road.
Nevertheless, despite the fact that pedestrians were crossing at zebra marked crossings and even on where there are no pedestrian traffic signals provided, often motorists do not stop to allow pedestrians to cross the road (Figure 8.28).