GH¢270m needed to upgrade roads in the Greater Accra – Report
The International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) Star Rating Report for Safety, has said that an investment of about GH¢270 million is needed to upgrade road networks in the Greater Accra Region.
The report said such an investment could also reduce road crashes by 33 per cent for the next 20 years and save more than 3,500 deaths and serious injuries on the road.
The Report was released under auspices of the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) and presented to Dr Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive by Madam Sylviane Ratte, the Deputy Director of BIGRS.
The report quoted the National Road Safety Commission that 114 road users were killed in Accra in 2013 with about 422 serious injuries.
“The Gross Domestic Product loss to road traffic crashes is estimated at 1.6 per cent and in Ghana the rate of road fatalities 2003 to 2012 grew from 8.1 to 8.4 per 100,000 people.”
The report said an investment to implement appropriate measures for the next 20 years on the road traffic system is urgently needed to achieve significant reduction in the number of serious and fatal road crashes.
As part of Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Road Safety Initiative, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) is working with the World Resources Institute, iRAP and the World Bank, among other partners, to improve traffic safety in Accra in the area of street design and better mobility.
“The approach of the group involves key efforts to improve quality of life in Accra, through sustainable transport and better street design by focusing on needs of people instead of vehicles, we seek to transform city and transport options to protect and embrace pedestrians, bicyclists and mass transport,” the report said.
Dr Vanderpuije called on drivers not to take road safety for granted and urged the police to enforce the speed limit regulations on roads.
“We must make the commitment right away to implement the recommendations by iRAP. We have to administer what is right to ensure safety on the roads,” he said.
He said the AMA would continue to provide the leadership to ensure that roads in Accra are safe.
Mr David Adonteng of the National Road Safety Commission said the responsibility of road safety is not for AMA alone, but for other stakeholders and pledged the Commission’s obligation to ensure that the recommendations were implemented.
Source: GNA