Mombasa wins international award for life-saving road safety campaign

Mombasa was named a bronze winner in the inaugural Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety Speed Challenge, standing alongside seven other major cities worldwide recognised for their commitment to protecting pedestrians and motorists.

The coastal city is named a bronze winner for implementing lower speed limits, building speed humps, and its "Slow Down" media campaign.

Speaking to Citizen Digital, Diana Laboso, the Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI) Local Liaison, a Transportation Engineer, explained the scope of Mombasa’s efforts under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety.

“The initiative came to Mombasa in 2022, and by 2023 we had begun implementing targeted interventions in high-risk zones such as schools and hospitals. Our focus has been on ensuring that the 30 km/h speed limit in these areas is supported by infrastructure that naturally encourages safer driving behaviour."

"This includes street design strategies like narrowing lanes and redistributing road space to prioritize pedestrians and cyclists, traffic calming measures such as raised table-top crossings, and complementing these with clear, visible signage to inspire compliance,” said Laboso.

She added that the recent award provides fresh momentum. “We now want to see how this recognition can help scale up school zone interventions, particularly by prioritising safe street design measures at the designated 30 km/h school zones in more locations.”

The award highlights how Mombasa is prepared to tackle speeding on the roads, a leading cause of road deaths globally. Key achievements that earned the city this honour include: the successful implementation of a 50 km/h national speed limit on urban roads, the construction of critical safety infrastructure, including speed humps and raised pedestrian crossings, near five schools to protect children and the creation and airing of a powerful public awareness media campaign with the compelling slogan, “Slow Down, Speeding Ruins Lives.”

The initiative challenged cities to adopt World Health Organisation (WHO)-recommended speed limits of under 50 km/h in urban areas and under 30 km/h in high-risk zones like schools and hospitals.

Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies, emphasised the importance of this work, stating, “Speeding kills 1,600 people every day. In fact, it’s a leading cause of preventable injuries and deaths worldwide. Through the Speed Challenge, we’re shining a spotlight on the most effective actions of winning cities."

The prize money is earmarked to further advance Mombasa's road safety efforts, potentially funding more infrastructure projects, enhanced enforcement technology, or extended public awareness campaigns.

Mombasa was in strong company, with gold awards going to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Bogotá, Colombia, for their extensive life-saving programs. Kampala, Uganda, also received a bronze award, making Mombasa's achievement a source of pride for Kenya on the continental stage.

This international recognition validates the county's strategy and is expected to boost momentum for further road safety initiatives across Kenya, demonstrating that a combination of policy, infrastructure, and public awareness can yield tangible, life-saving results.