Enhancing Kigali –and some tree chopping

If you are going south on the Boulevard de l’OUA during a rush hour in Kigali you are going straight into a traffic jam.

Traffic jams in Kigali are rare, but there are about four places where you’ll end up in one early morning or evening. The one on this boulevard is quite annoying because one can see the line of cars bend and disappear in 400 meters. The reason: a traffic light holding a single-lane drive south, with people going straight or turning left at the stop.

The city of Kigali has therefore decided to enlarge it into two lanes. The decision will for sure reduce the wait in line for the ones going straight, while it will keep all the ones going left on the same spot waiting –and many they are.

The debatable matter was the cut-off of hundreds of pine trees that separated the boulevard from Rue Depute Kayuku. Most likely this decision was dictatorial. Hopefully their remains are going to be used effectively, maybe as support for rural or outskirt bridges or for a presidential barbeque; yet Kigali will still have areas where you can feel the cool, chilly microclimate while walking. This one was the closest one to the city centre; the one I like the most is on Rue de la Securité, very chilly and where bats refuge from time to time.