The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) in collaboration with the Association of Civil Engineering Students held a lecture for fifth-year civil engineering students on 30th November 2021 at LT 401, UoN Tower.  

The meeting began with a short word from Muthomi Munyua who was representing Dr. Osano, the Chairman of the Department of Civil & Construction Engineering, University of Nairobi. The hour-long lecture was led by Gabriel Gitau and Peninah Ndgewa from ITDP. 

Gabriel Gitau gave an overview of the SMDUAK. Chapter 1 highlights some laws and policies that affect transportation planning. Chapter 2 highlights street design principles, designing for safety, efficient use of road space, Universal access encompassing people with disabilities (PwDs), gender-sensitive design, modal hierarchy and the need to prioritise pedestrian and public transportation. Chapter 3 has some street typologies and examples of mass rapid transit. Chapter 4 has street elements such as footpath design, universal access, raised zebra crossings, cycle tracks, street furniture, stormwater drainage and underground utilities. Chapter 5 of the SMDUAK has street templates for various road reserve widths. Chapter 6 covers intersections and finally, Chapter 7 outlines the design process and includes data collection procedures.  

The manual is available for download from the ITDP website: https://africa.itdp.org/publication/street-design-manual-for-urban-areas-in-kenya/. There are lots of other available resources from the ITDP website. You are encouraged to visit https://africa.itdp.org/ for more resources. 

Peninah Ndegwa moderated the Question-and-Answer Session which took about 45 minutes. Quincy Wamono, the chairman of ACES gave a vote of thanks and the session ended.