Meet halfway in Nairobi
For a group meeting in Nairobi, where most people get around by car, the fairest points are usually Westlands, Yaya Centre in Kilimani, The Junction on Ngong Road or the CBD, depending on where everyone starts. togather times each person's drive door to door and finds the spots where nobody is stuck with a much longer trip through Nairobi traffic.
- Car
- Walking
- Nairobi Expressway
- Cycling
- Walking
Where groups actually meet in Nairobi
Interchanges that work as a fair midpoint for most groups. togather will not always land on one of these - it answers for your actual starting points - but they are the ones that come up again and again.
Westlands
Car via Waiyaki Way and the western end of the Nairobi Expressway
The busiest restaurant and office district outside the CBD, with Sarit Centre as a landmark, and the default fair answer for a group spread across the western and northern suburbs.
CBD (Kenyatta Avenue)
Car via Uhuru Highway and Haile Selassie Avenue
The centre of the city's road network, and fairer than any suburb when the group comes from all directions, including Eastlands, South B and the Thika Road side.
Yaya Centre (Kilimani)
Car via Argwings Kodhek Road
A well-known mall between Kilimani, Hurlingham and Lavington, and a good middle for a group split between Westlands and the Ngong Road side of the city.
The Junction (Ngong Road)
Car via Ngong Road at Dagoretti Corner
The anchor mall for the south-west, and fairer than Westlands for a group with people coming from Karen, Lavington and Kilimani.
Two Rivers Mall
Car via Limuru Road near Ruaka
A large mall on the northern edge of the city, which keeps a group living in Runda, Ruaka, Gigiri and Muthaiga from having to drive into town to meet.
Village Market (Gigiri)
Car via Limuru Road
An open-air mall near the UN complex, popular for weekend meet-ups, and a fair point for a group spread across Gigiri, Runda and Muthaiga.
Garden City Mall
Car via the Thika Superhighway
The main landmark on Thika Road, and the fair answer for a group weighted towards Kasarani, Roysambu and the north-east rather than the western suburbs.
How to pick a fair meeting point in Nairobi
Nairobi traffic is the whole story. A handful of arteries - Waiyaki Way, Ngong Road, Thika Road, Mombasa Road and Uhuru Highway - carry most of the city’s trips, and when one of them jams, a short distance can take longer than a long one on a clear road. The Nairobi Expressway has helped people travelling between the airport side and Westlands, but it does not reach most neighbourhoods.
The map midpoint knows none of this. It might land in Kibera, inside Nairobi National Park, or on a quiet street with nowhere to sit, and it says nothing about which roads each person has to use. Matatus carry a huge share of trips, but their routes are informal and not something a journey planner can time.
Westlands for the west, Garden City for Thika Road
For a group spread across the western suburbs, Westlands is the usual answer, with Yaya Centre in Kilimani a good alternative when someone is coming from the Ngong Road side. The Junction suits Karen and Lavington, while a group in the leafy north is better served by Two Rivers or Village Market. If people are coming in along Thika Road, Garden City keeps them from crossing the city at rush hour.
Each person sets car or walking, and the result reflects real routes rather than straight lines. Because a jam on Waiyaki Way or Mombasa Road can double a journey, togather times every trip on the actual roads and suggests places where the drive is about as long for each person. Add the starting points before anyone commits to a table.
Meeting halfway in Nairobi - questions
- Where is a fair place to meet halfway in Nairobi?
- Usually Westlands, Yaya Centre or the CBD for a mixed group, and The Junction, Two Rivers or Garden City when most people live on one side. togather works out which from everyone's real driving times.
- Does togather time matatus?
- No. Matatu routes are informal and not timed. Set each person to car or walking, and togather finds a spot where nobody's drive is much longer than the rest.
- Why is the map midpoint so misleading in Nairobi?
- Because a few roads carry almost all the traffic. Waiyaki Way, Ngong Road, Thika Road and Mombasa Road decide trip times, so a point between two people on a map can mean a long crawl for one of them.
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