Introduction
I had just finished shopping at the Downtown Shopping Mall on the South-End of Cairo Road around the Kafue Round About. I turned left heading South to Kafue but I was going to Manda Hill on the Great East Road. I had to turn right at the robots toward Lumumba Road. I didn’t want to go to Lumumba Road because I knew there would be more traffic congestion. The U- Turn back toward Cairo Road was wide open. As soon as I made the U- Turn into an unusually wide open lane, I knew I was in deep trouble when a Traffic Police Officer stopped me immediately. He politely told me I had broken a traffic code as I was not supposed to make a U-turn. My protesting that I did not see any big visible “no U-Turn” sign did not change the officer’s mind. I was invited to the back of a make shift police station at the back of a van where I paid the fine.
Driving in Lusaka is any driver’s worst nightmare. There is congestion night and day in virtually all parts of the city. Cairo Road is probably the worst. It took me over 30 minutes to drive from Katondo Street across to the Main Post Office. If I had walked, it would have taken me may be 5 minutes.
A “Zambian Watchdog” article of May 2011 has a head line that says: “Traffic Jams and used cars terrorize Zambia’s Roads”. Another article by Kelvin Kachingwe in UKZambians web page in February 2008 said: “Lusaka becoming auto jungle – 50 vehicles per day are being imported”. It is estimated that 300 used cars are being imported into Zambia every day.
In spite all the traffic congestion, to be fair, I never saw any traffic accident in the two weeks I drove in Lusaka last month. Drivers help each other out and every driver negotiates incredibly tight space leaving mere millimeters between vehicles which often may raise one’s temperature and levels of anxiety. Is there a solution to the traffic nightmare and gridlock in Lusaka? There are two possible solutions: first an underground train system and second a new massive sophisticated road highway system around Lusaka. Doing nothing or just building more side roads are not best solutions in the long run.
Underground Tunnel Train System
Lusaka should have 5 major underground train tunnels. The first train tunnel should be from the round about going to the Kenneth Kaunda International airport near Chelston on the Great East Road all the way to Cairo Road. The second underground train tunnel should start from Zanimuone or Landless Corner on the Kabwe or Great North Road all the Way to Cairo Road. The third train tunnel should start from Bauleni, Mtendere, partially under Independence Avenue, under the current Intercity Bus Terminal and Railway station, and finally connect to Cairo Road between Churchhill Road and Independence Avenue. The fourth train tunnel should start from Munda Wanga Botanical Gardens along Kafue Road all the way to Cairo Road. The fifth train tunnel should start from Chilenje and Chilenje South extension through Kabwata, and Kamwala Shopping Center under the Independence Avenue flyover bridge into Cairo Road. The whole area underground between Cairo Road, Cha-Cha-Cha Road, and Freedom Way should have a massive underground railway station where all the trains form the City will interchange.
Sophisticated Road Highways
If the underground tunnel is deemed not possible or too expensive, Lusaka should have a sophisticated road highway system. Four lane highways should be constructed on elevated massive pillars on top and along the five major current road arteries as described already; on the Great East Road, Independence Avenue from Mtendere and Bauleni, from Chilanga on the Kafue Road, and from Zanimuone on the Great North Road all leading to and some highways bypassing above Cairo Road. We cannot afford to have any major roads on the ground anymore as construction has used up all the ground space in Lusaka. These highways would be high speed expressways where there would be no stopping allowed. Slower cars and other limping vehicles would use the current ground roads underneath the elevated highways on massive pillars. The Highway Traffic Officers would enforce the new rules.
Advantages and Benefits
All of these recommendations if implemented would ease road traffic congestion in most parts of Lusaka, save billions of Kwacha in money spent on petrol by thousands of idling vehicles that are caught in perpetual traffic jams. The life spans of the vehicles would be extended. People would sleep better as they would not have to wake up very early to drive to work which would lower costs of medical conditions that happen due to stress. The flow of commerce in the city would be improved.
By Mwizenge S. Tembo, Ph.D.
You want the PF government to borrow another billion dollars hehehehe
PF guys will go ahead and borrow $50 billion. A few years after, they will start borrowing other billions to pay these billions. Don’t give them ideas; even ideas that don’t work they implement in order to borrow.
Dreams are for those who sleep wakeup Dr Tembo……. wake him up or he will ask the Government to introduce commuters’ helicopters from Bauleni to Mandevu. Iwe Dr appreciate what the working Government is doing in the midst of hash economic situation.
The writer would go crazy in Dar es salaam. 10 million people million people live in Dar, the mother of congestion. Ideas are welcome. The problem is that the public transport sector has been left to party Cadres and Ba Kaponya to run. They collect money, levies from bus stations. Do we expect these guys to put the money into a good venture or even plan 20 years from now? Why not have a circular bus route that goes round the CBD, build multi storey car parks next to city bus terminus, lumumba road, church road…….
Mwizenge S. Tembo, Ph.D would then do shopping, go to a restaurant, watch a film, get harassed by street vendors…lol. Out side the shopping mall, the circular bus has a stop, the Dr gets on the bus, next stop would be the car park on church road. The Dr gets off the bus, gets into his car and drives to his home with his shopping. The side walks in Lsk city are too big, half them put a bus lane round the city.
Any idea Mwizenge how much your full plan would cost and over what period? Of course to sit back and do nothing is no solution.
De-register or decommission all vehicles 15 yrs or older without fail and implement a bus mass transit???
Dull thinking! We need good ideas like this and for sure they will not come from visionless drunkards!
The problem can be solved by taking Zambias Capital city somewhere else. Just as Nigeria, Brazil, India and a few other countries have done.
Any suggestions?
Kabwe?
Mansa?
Mongu?
Have a look at the JICA transportation master plan of 2009 also. You heard me right, nothing from there has ever been implemented
Ba Doc, you are in a wrong country. I do not even think you live in LSK (The City of Angels). The last time someone wanted to go undeground with the railway; Sata sent him under at ZRL. And why would you head down Kafue road if you were going down to the Hill; besides if you knew me city, you would have turned at shoprite, did a ring road and saved face. And if you knew Lusaka’s terrain you would have known that we cannot build railway tunnels through it, the deepest we could dig were those walk-through tunnels running from state house to wherever Kaunda wanted to be in an ambush. Advice for you; you seem to have a vision of a developed Zambia; it is not going to happen in several lifetimes from you so do your self a favour; go to Germany/Sweden via Syria. Just tell them you are…
Find also time to drive on Kenyan Roads especially in Nairobi CBD.
Baba it’s a nightmare driving on Nairobi roads due to extreme traffic and what with the pothole ridden roads immediately you leave Nairobi CBD. Limo limo tuletashako fimo. For some of us who have been using Lusaka roads can attest to the fact that there is a marked improvement in terms of reduced traffic on the roads and time spent on them due to opening of new routes unless peak hours which is even the states. Ifintu boyi filichinja. Just come back
Baba it’s a nightmare driving on Nairobi roads due to extreme traffic and what with the pothole ridden roads immediately you leave Nairobi CBD. Limo limo tuletashako fimo. For some of us who have been using Lusaka roads can attest to the fact that there is a marked improvement in terms of reduced traffic on the roads and time spent on them due to opening of new routes unless peak hours which is even the states. Ifintu boyi filichinja. Just come back and be part of the transformation
….Mr Tembo…too much of western world can make you start hallucinating…in fact I expected the last sentence to be like…’what a dream….’..a good fantasy I must say…next time you are in Zambia…..please visit UTH….im sure you will come up with another fantasy and instead of constructing a London or New York like rail and road net work…we will have to start with what ever you will come up with on health institutions….then go for education sector after we tackle the water and sewer systems….I wont talk of the prisons…..
…Please Mr Tembo after you come up with these brilliant suggestions in all institutions….give them to your four year old son who will hand them over to his grandson who will in turn give his grandson for implement in year 2156…
…one other thing Mr Tembo…were you given a receipt after paying you fee…did you pay the stipulated amount or you are one of those people who feel shy to tell the truth…tell us…what really transpired at that makeshift traffic police office…at that back of a van…that could have spiced up your article Mr Tembo….
2156 ?????
I don’t think so! There will be no money to pay for anything like that.
Zambians will still be working like slaves and living like animals in the compounds to PAY BACK THE KALOBA and the INTEREST on all the Eurobonds the PF have borrowed!
Ati “I had to turn right at the robots”. “Robots”! What a PhD holder?! Is this what they taught you in your PhD course? Even more dreaming – ati “Underground Tunnel Train System”, “Sophisticated Road Highways”.
Do you even know that the government will soon won’t have money even to dig a borehole?
But I agree with you……..Lusaka is jungle.
Zambia is full of I.D.I.O.T.S, prof tembo has good suggestions, but these fit for the pit latrine bloggers want to even oppose the way they BREATHE.
Just build ring roads. Tunnels will take a long way. Our planning is in a mess. I have used those underground trains. British are good at it so are the Japanese. These may work well in new cities.
Iwe PhD Mwizenge S Tembo, Your ideas sound very very good but ask your fellow PhD Clive Chirwa. The City fathers and mothers at LCC and Local Govt. Ministry, RDA, RFA etc know these plans. Check with LCC JICA Master Plan for Lusaka City Roads Redesign, its heaven on earth but those paper tigers in GRZ will have chewed alive. THey are better off with the current kafwafwa planning. Prof. Clive Chirwa had better designs for ZRL to do under ground train transport system but what followed a horde of Mimbula sprang up and messed him up. Now he is zee at CBU lecturing. When hthere is heavy congestion on our Lusaka roads some its big business to cash in. Iwe PhD Tembo these chaps here will never listen to good plans. JICA has plans at LCC but they are zee. Look at Zesco its forward and backward…
Chriwa was on something when he said he would go underground (not necessarily under) as options above would have been limitless for traffic as those outdated flyovers would have gone.
Yes, let’s spend more to improve our highways. Agreed. But Underground? Way too costly and electricity problem could mean getting stuck under for a while!
At least Dr. Tembo has a dream compared to most of you here who are experts drunkards with no vision for your country.
Comment:actually us urban designers and architects proposed this ring roads and highways with previous mmd government and Lusaka council no one listened to use we thought the late Sata would be better but nothing even jica drew up plans nothing….. I mean how can you build of all these malls with out zoning or density rights…… Instead president flys in helicopter… Our own hope is if jica and Japanese government decided to build it on there own…… I’m an Zambian workin as an architect in a dense Tokyo I know first hand we can solve these problems but short term thinking at lsk council
Most traffic is caused by mini buses covering N entire Lane.. These guys r like thugs N animals.. Even if u try reasoning with them they will retaliate N swear u.. Characterless… Dats y education is really important.. It teaches human to behave like humans.. These drivers mostly appear drunkdrunk.. They don’t have any roadRoad sense. OtherOther thing contributingcontributing traffic is thethe way traffic lights havehave been programmed. Some lights give uu only five seconds of green. Obviously motorists willwill create Road rage of the frustration. Thirdly places like lumumba Rd. Most of the tymz traffic lites are not working. U Either finefine them unmaned or if an officer is controlling he dsnt seem to know how to handle the traffic. They follow their hearts desire. N start…
I did not know Lusaka has Robots on their roads or does this guy mean traffic lights. Any its a Zambian thing Robots.
Mr PhD I dont think we should worry about roads now.
You just went into twon at wrong time.
I got discouraged reading this articles when reached the robots word. Then after pushing myself really had I a notice every underground tunnel going to Cairo Road. What is in Cairo Road? I stay in Lusaka and go for months without any need to get into Cairo Road. Does everyone in Zambia work, shop, live sh!t in Cairo Road?
A person that does not dream is as good as dead! pa zed when someone comes up with a plan he is shot down in an instant this spirit of poverty is more of a curse, instead of using this platform to expound on what the doctor has triggered we are falling on top of each other watering him down, a dream built Tokyo, New York, London, Paris, cape town, los Angles and all those beautiful orderly cities the world over.
For starters
(1) I think those two rounder bouts on cairo road must be gotten rid of and a proper traffic lighting system be put in place.
(2) the island on cairo road must also be gotten rid of I know most people will say it will take the green out of the city but came lets face it their are more advantages that can be gotten from that decision.
(3)side road packing should be…
made pararel and not diagonal as is the case. Parking lots are big business in organized systems the private sector can make multiple stories car parks and utilize monthly tags or just a daily parking rate.
(4) At certain sections say Kafue round about and great east road round about’ independence and great east roads must connect by fly over cairo road into chacha road and freedom way so minibuses can easily have access to the various taxi ranks in the city center.
its a challenge to who ever is responsible with city planning they must use their degrees not waiting for jaica! let us create solutions to our own problems
@Makwingo, it’s ‘Roundabouts’ not rounder bouts.
Responsible governments have long term plans (20 years or more) regarding the direction of their country and they apply them. This has not been the case in Zambia. We are just beginning to feel the effects of government’s many years of poor planning. These effects will continue for a long time since planning is still a huge challenge and experts still keep being ignored. Look at the people who talk about national issues in this country: Davies Chama, Chishimba Kambwili, Mumbi Phiri, etc. Ignore planning and experts at your own peril!
While the doc’s ideas are good he has limited them to the geographical area of lusaka. It will be difficult to change Lsk now as we might need to raze it down & rebuild. The area is simply choked. I’d suggest moving the capital to a new place. eg combining chisamba, chibombo, chongwe & probably part of kabwe districts into one big city. Of course the issue of most of our commercial farmers being in this area will arise. But there are vast tracts of undeveloped land in this country. That’s how one developer has gotten 40000 ha in Lufwanyama.
ONE OF THE BEST IDEAS IVE EVER SEEN ON THIS SITE!!
However it should be a more honest, less corrupt clueless Government to implement this to fruition.
Current problem is P.F. Crooks will borrow Billions of U$ Dollars, & pocket the cash leaving incomplete hazardous trenches all over the Capital. Remember KK International Airport scams??
This would also need a sane Sober minded lot to maintain so as ensure a proper quality sanitary standard Metro, otherwise it will become the Most Dangerous Metro on the planet, full of extorting P.F Thugs, & cadres, as is happening @ present, when one visits the Inter- City Bus terminal
What are “Robots” there is no such thing on the road..only in Zambia…I remember when I used to call them that…really laughable.
I have said this time and time again that the solution to Lusaka’s traffic problems is a EITHER a ring road around the city centre to decongest it of unnecessary traffic flowing through the center OR completely demolishing those bottle neck eyesores you call flyover bridges then move the ZR line underground or outside the city centre paving way for wider modern highways and even have option of constructing more inter-connecting road alternatives bypassing town center all together.
The only problem we have in Zambia is our procurement and tendering system is flawed hence we do not attract the best in the business for the best value due to corruption…
…. through that political manipulated entity called RDA.
I do not know of any major city with a million people which has no traffic congestion, in spite of ring roads, trams and subways! The reason is that there is no government that plannned for 100 years in advance.
What is needed is to begin anew and plan NEW cities altogether. Abuja is an example, but Nigerian corruption marred the project. Dodoma was a very good idea too, but the Tanzanian economy collapsed. Zambia may have to move the capital to a brand new city around east of Chisamba.
The solution is simple. Build alternative modes of transport. Light railway systems or trams. Mine engineers should not only be tasked with digging holes and extracting Zambia’s wealth but used for other major projects such as roads and railways.. Zambia with it’s power shortages is not ready for underground systems. Ethiopia has just completed building it’s modern light railway system with Chinese help. Nigeria are in the process of mordernising their railway system. We have the skill set but not the political will.
#bambo M Tembo, PF leadership and all their cadres will not understand what you have just suggested. They didn’t understand what prof Chirwa wanted to do either. All they know is to enjoy Jameson and put more borrowed money in their pockets. We have KK tunnels & mine tunnels on the copperbelt and in NWP etc and so building underground tunnels should not be a problem but PF has no vision, capacity and will to do so.
#snake bite, leave the Doc alone. What we call traffic lights is still being called robots in some other countries. In Zambia they won’t understand if you say traffic lights but they will understand if you say robots. are you a PF cadre who fails to discuss the important issues raised by the Doc? what is your opinion to what the wise Doc has written?
You all are fake planners..
The best solution would be to move the Capital city of Zambia to a town like Kabwe and start afresh. Lusaka is done!!! Kaput!!!! Finished!!!
#Planner, the issue here is not Lusaka as capital city but Lusaka as a city which we will continue to have for years to come. the capital city can be moved anywhere like Siavonga, Kafue or Chisamba etc but Lusaka or any other city need proper planning with good motorist or railway infrastructure. With good planners at LCC and visionary political leaders, Lusaka can be rebuilt into a real modern city, heaven on earth with no shanty compounds. I am willing to share my knowledge for free if GRZ needs it.
The traffic police are half of the problem we have in this jungle… like hyaenas they wait and scavenge on whatever they can get… By hook or by crook, they will clean you out!
It’s nice to see that so many people paticipate on the discussion about this topic. And yes driving in Lusaka is a nightmare sometimes. The problem is the bad infrastructure. Zambia needs a rail system and a bus system, cause that would ease the situation country wide. And the big cities they need bypassings only for transit, for example for heavy trucks. And parking spaces off the cities and bus transfer as well. And I really don’t know why almost all people knock off the same time at 17 hours…no wonder the roads are crowded. Of course all that is expensive and I don’t have the magic cure, but you will never live in a better country if you don’t start working on it. There are many wise politicians in Zambia and I am sure they are already thinking about the issues. All parties,…
Comment:Education: In all this noise the doc is silent, you mean you can’t take ‘robot’ as the doc using humour? I hear that a nation is not developed when the poor drive cars it’s when the rich ride in public transport-trains.
Comment:Say something Dr Tembo-your feedback is part of development.
Comment: I like your ideas, doc. I suggest you put all of them in a serious document and present it to the WORKING government. That is how you may have it looked at with a serious eye. Eventually, the daring PF will implement them.
I totally disagree with all these proposals but I certainly agree with u that there are no traffic signs around downtown shopping mall…very embarrassing…in as much as I appreciate that public transport needs to be improved as a way of mitigating traffic congestion in lusaka, the local authorities should improve on their planning for the new developments..I mean why shud one travel to the city centre for business when places like Chelstone can have all the essential amenities such as post office, banks, shops, etc? Unless one works in the city , going to the city will always be a nightmare…Zambia needs a new capital city with serious planning otherwise you will continue with the chaos on Cairo rd…