Analysis of walkability in Kigali City

Abstract

The problem of this research is based on the little consideration of walking mode compared to the major consideration which is given to motorized modes of transport when planning, funding and implementing transport project, and these affect the the walkability of the city environment. This research aims at analysing the walkability in Kigali City and to identify potential for improvements. Specifically, the benefits of walking mode was assessed, access to services and walkability perception were analysed, walkability index for Kigali was developed based on GIS analysis of data on land use and the built environment, and potential solutions to improve walkability in Kigali were investigated. To achieve the research objectives three sample study locations (one in Nyarugenge sector as the city centre, the second in Masaka sector as the suburban area and the third in Kinyinya sector as the area in between) have been chosen and different methods for data collection and analysis have been used such as literatures, field surveys (by using questionnaires for household interview and Google earth images), field observation, and the IPEN methodology (to develop and compare walkability indexes with GIS) has been adopted. As the results the research found that little consideration is given to walking mode, regardless its benefits, and major consideration is given to motorized modes during transport system planning and implementation. To access to main destinations in Kigali walkability system is very poor (for example on the total length of 226.26Km of the investigated roads only 11.38% represent the percentage of roads with 2 sidewalks and 78% represent the total percentage of roads with zero sidewalks, both paved and unpaved) and unequally distributed within Kigali where the high value of walkability index (approx. 2.57090) is found in the city centre and the low value (approx.1.31984) is found in the suburban area and the value of an area in between is approximately 1.62773. Based on the traffic volume pedestrians are fear of accident when crossing in the city center and the high preference is zebra crossing in the vii junctions with traffic signals. And the degree of security for pedestrians reduces as you go far from the city centre especially at night. Finally, different suggestions, some ones from the surveys, GIS analysis and others from literatures, have been suggested as solutions for improving accessibility by walking mode in Kigali. In addition, these improvements are required and recommendations for next research were stated at the end. Key words: accessibility, walkability, walking mode, urban environment, walkability index, walkability improvement.