One of the things I miss about living in the US and Germany is the lighting on the streets at night. You could walk around most places at night because they were well lit. Of course the lights were a deterrent to any possible criminals so you felt quite safe.
In Nairobi on the other hand only some major streets, the CBD(Central Business District) and shopping centers are well lit at night. The lighting situation is so bad that on some streets drivers are forced to drive using high beams just to see. Of course using high beams are a hazard to other drivers but often there is no choice. As a pedestrian it is so much worse; any time I'm walking on a dark street at night I feel like I'm just inviting a mugger to make me his next victim.
Therefore the announcement yesterday that the county government of Nairobi will be rehabilitating old street lights and even installing new ones is welcome news to me and many others. Hopefully they are planning for widespread application of this plan. Every Kenyan should be able to walk around their neighborhood without fear of crime. Good street lighting would also go a long way to encouraging a 24-hour economy in the city of Nairobi.
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