Bloomberg Philanthropies Delegation Inspects Road Safety Enhancement On N1 Highway

By Gilbert Nii Ankrah

A delegation from the Bloomberg Philanthropies in the United States of America is in Accra to acquaint itself with the progress of work to improve road safety.

Accra is among 10 selected cities in the world in 2015 by Bloomberg Philanthropies, where it launched the initiative for Global road safety to promote safer streets.

The delegation toured the Lapaz intersection on the N1 Highway in Accra to observe the road safety enhancement works carried out at the intersection and was optimistic that the intervention would go a long way to improve pedestrian mobility and reduce fatalities.

Ms. Becky Bavinger, a Global Public Health Officer with the Philanthropies told the media that the current work at the intersection was the best option considering the volumes of pedestrians, explaining that "the physically challenged persons can now cross the 14 lanes with ease".

"There are a lot of pedestrians who cannot use a footbridge; the elderly, children, people in wheelchairs among others so this is a much better system to allow all pedestrians to cross the 14 lanes with ease," she said.

She stressed the need for the police to intensify enforcement at the intersection to compel drivers to reduce their speed and ensure that all buses picked and dropped passengers at designated locations adding that pedestrian education on the use of crossing is equally vital.

Mr. Ben Welle, a Senior Associate Urban and Transportation Planner with EMBARQ, described the intersection as a dangerous one and stressed the need for drivers to reduce their speed when approaching it.

He pointed out that the intention for redesigning the intersection was to give pedestrians more priority to ensure safety, explaining that pedestrians in urban areas do not normally use footbridges so the best thing to do in such situations was to improve the safety condition on the streets.

The delegation also observed random checks by the Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service on drunk driving.

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