We have, on a number of occasions, used this column to raise concern about the traffic congestion, especially, in the national capital, Accra. We indicated that most of these traffic jams could have been avoided if proper measures were put in place by the Department of Urban Roads.
As a result of the regular accidents that were occurring on the Legon-Madina-Adenta road, the government took the decision to complete the construction of all the footbridges that had been abandoned on that corridor. Surprisingly, pedestrians prefer to cross the ten-lane road instead of using the footbridges, thus defeating the purpose for which these bridges were constructed.
The Chronicle has, however, observed since Monday this week that a team of police personnel and city guards from the La Nkwantanan Assembly have been deployed to Madina Zongo Junction to ensure that pedestrians use the footbridges to allow the free flow of traffic. Trotro drivers, who were parking haphazardly at the junction, have also been reined in. Indeed, it is not only Madina Zongo that this decongestion exercise is going on in Accra.
The Greater Accra Regional Minister himself led a similar exercise on the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue and Katamanto Market to decongest the central business district of Accra. This is a commendable exercise, especially the one going on at the Madina Zongo Junction.
The big question, however, is how long can they sustain these exercises?
Apart from Makola, the next big market in Accra is that of Madina. People travel from far and near to transact business at the market, and this has increased human traffic in the area.
In our view, therefore, the permanent solution to the Madina problem is he erection of barricade in the median of the road to force the human traffic onto the footbridges. As we have repeatedly stated here in this column, the deployment of city guards, though ensuring sanity in the area, is not, and cannot, be a permanent solution.
The investment that is going into this deployment exercise could have been used to erect the barricade and permanently solve the problem.
Whilst the authorities ponder over the issue, The Chronicle is also drawing their attention about the need to construct an interchange at the Okponglo and Ghana Standard Board junctions. With the little exercise going on at Madina, traffic is beginning to build up at these two important junctions. The Zongo Junction used to hold the traffic and releases it gradually, but now that there is free movement of vehicles there, the aforementioned junctions are becoming the next puzzles for the country to solve.
Our leaders must, therefore, start planning, especially, sourcing for money to construct these interchanges. An interchange is being constructed at the Obetesbi-Lamptey Circle today, because the authorities realised that after that of Kwame Nkrumah Circle had been completed, the traffic congestion will move to Obetsebi-Lamptey.
This good example, we suggest, must be replicated on the Tetteh Quarshie-Legon road to ensure the free flow of traffic.
Traffic build-ups always slow down productivity, and that is why The Chronicle is always concerned about the traffic situation in Accra, and, indeed, all our cities and big towns. Those who have ears let them listen to us.
The post Editorial: Decongestion of Madina Zongo Junction is a good exercise! appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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