AMA and BIGRS officials crossing the road with some pedestrians
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has inaugurated major road safety enhancement works at the Holy Spirit Cathedral intersection in Accra to ensure road safety.
The road safety enhancement works, which were carried out with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) and Partnership for Healthy Cities (PHC) sought to, among other things, address the issue of pedestrian safety and reduce crashes.
The Holy Spirit Cathedral intersection, a pivotal crossroad in the heart of the city, has been a focal point for road traffic-related crashes over the years.
The road safety interventions undertaken at the intersection include the remarking of faded road line markings (stop lines, centre lines, crossing lines, directional lines etc.), extension of the medians with the use of road markings and hatching to tighten the intersection and the lowing of kerbs heights at pedestrian crossings locations.
Mayor of Accra, Elizabeth Kwatsoe Sackey, said the Assembly’s priorities were diverse with one overarching goal to improve the quality of life of people living within the city of Accra.
She said the project underscored the Assembly’s unwavering commitment to combating the alarming number of fatalities on our roads, adding that through combined and persistent efforts, road crashes and fatalities had reduced by 22% and 17% respectively.
“This milestone reflects the tangible impact of our collaborative endeavours to create safer road environments and protect the lives of our citizens…It lends credence to AMA’s relentlessness towards the reduction of this disheartening number of deaths on our roads. Our collective efforts have thus led to a 22% and 17% decrease in road crashes and fatalities in Accra respectively,” she stressed.
Ing. Samuel Boamah Danquah, Road Safety Coordinator for Road Design and Transportation, BIGRS, in a remark said, “this targeted intervention do not only addresses current challenges but also anticipates and accommodates the future growth and development of the area as a business hub.”
By Nafisatu Abdul Razak