[EDITORIAL] More innovative ideas needed to curb pollution

Today Kigali’s main artery, the road that leads from the main roundabout in the city centre all the way to the national Stadium in Remera – for the better part of the day – will have been taken over by pedestrians. The Car Free Day is a noble idea as it will give sports enthusiasts more than enough space to stretch their muscles and fill their lungs with fresh air, away from the toxic fumes from motor vehicles. But how green – as the organizers have touted it – is the whole exercise? Will closing part of the city really have a significant impact on the environment? It calls for skepticism. The normal number of motor vehicles that ply the streets on a Sunday will be constant, they will just be diverted to other routes and some neighbourhoods will get more than their fair share of fumes. The Car free Day seems to have been designed in a hurry, but as it should be expected, every new project, however well intentioned, has its teething problems, but it should open doors for more innovative ideas to reduce on pollution. For example, the city could introduce a selective number plate procedure on Car Free Day. Vehicles ending with either an odd or even number could remain parked. This will definitely reduce by half exhaust emissions. The police should also be equipped with portable smoke detectors where emissions recorded exceeding acceptable levels are flagged. Vehicles would then not have to wait until the next year to go through the technical control. Those, and similar innovations, could spread all over the country – not only in Kigali –and would have a much greater impact on the well being of citizens.

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[EDITORIAL] More innovative ideas needed to curb pollution