Road accidents and pedestrians: the importance of traffic calming measures in talking the (in)visible public health disaster in Kampala City

Cities are places for people and concerns about the quality of the urban environment foster a renewed interest in investigations focusing on the use of street space by pedestrians. Each successive stage in the transport evolution of cities through walking, transit and automobile forms has seen the role of non-motorised modes diminished. New land uses have become progressively less dense and activities have become highly segregated and zoned. This has increased the distances of travel so that walking and cycling are less convenient. Road systems have become progressively more hostile to people on foot and bicycle and there are frequently only meagre, if any facilities are provided for pedestrians and cyclists. A body of knowledge that looks at pedestrianisation has been insufficient in many cities of the developing world. In Kampala City, more emphasis has always been put on motorised traffic and its parking needs. The goal of this paper is to review the level of road safety of the pedestrian environment and the importance of traffic calming measures in improving road safety in the city of Kampala.