Why Kenyan footbridges are the new markets and parks

A footbridge on Thika Road. [XN Iraki]

On my first visit to a developed country, I found it curious that roads were fenced. I wondered how pedestrians would cross. Later, I found that pedestrians were few and footbridges were many and respected.

Drivers, respectively, stopped to let pedestrians cross.

In Kenya, we treat pedestrians with contempt, as if to say, “Why don’t you drive?”

In Kenya, pedestrians are the majority, but footbridges are fewer and do not coincide with population centres. As we build more highways, we seem to forget that Kenya is a walking nation. 92 per cent of US (United States) households own at least one car. In Kenya?

Yet until recently, walking paths were rare. We need to add cycling lanes. High fuel prices mean more Kenyans are likely to walk or cycle. Others are health conscious and would prefer to leave the car at home. 

Back to footbridges. They are a safety measure to keep traffic flowing on busy highways.

Never mind that we still cross roads under footbridges.  It’s not that we are lazy; walking is hard! Footbridges also attract motorcycles, making foot a misnomer,

Our footbridges have more uses beyond safety; they are markets and parks. Traders know through observation that the few footbridges have lots of traffic, a good market! Footbridges are some of the few public places one can idle around.

We have no parks. It seems Uhuru Park was the last one. Even new and posh estates have no space for parks. Any public park in Karen? Runda?

It is strange how we can import political systems, constitutions, roads and the standard gauge railway but somehow no one sees the great parks in cities like New York, London or even Beijing.

It's concrete everywhere. We seem to equate concrete with modernism. Yet the affluent live in estates with minimal concrete, the leafy suburbs!

The stress of modernism requires breathing spaces; parks, nature trails, pools or that backyard or front yard.  Since we lack space, we build balconies that become storage areas or drying spaces for clothes.

We seem to have forgotten that houses are a recent innovation, outdoor is our natural habitat. Just watch kids playing in the open or take a walk through a forest, a beach or a golf course.

 We should be in the house only when sleeping, unaware of our surroundings.

Yet a visit to developing countries indicates one of the signs of modernism is open spaces, including the absence of ugly perimeter walls. Shall we have more parks and open spaces as we head to Singapore?

Or do we prefer more mental hospitals?