TRAFFIC LIGHT SITUATION IN TWIN-CITY BAD (PAGE 28)

Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Takoradi

DYSFUNCTIONAL traffic lights in the Twin-City of Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolis is getting worse by the day.
On many occasions, several accidents have been recorded at the intersections with daily occurrences near the Takoradi Police Station, something that could have been avoided if the lights were working.
At a point, drivers who were confused about the lights had to endure the insults from others. According to officials of the Motor Traffic and Transports Unit (MTTU), the rules of driving are that even when the traffic lights are off drivers should stop and give way to traffic on the left.
They say the countless accidents happened as a result of the impatience of drivers. The lights near the National Investment Bank have not worked for more than three years.
On the Liberation Road, the traffic light towards the market circle and around the market from the Nkrumah and Paa Grant roundabouts are off.
Therefore, those coming from the opposite directions have to depend on those approaching from the opposite directions.
Now that the police have been withdrawn from the road, driving at the Takoradi Polytechnic light has perhaps reached its most dangerous point.
At the intersection leading to the STC transport yard, the light has turned upside down.
The poles holding the lights looked dirty and in bad shape.
On the way from Nkrumah Roundabout to the Second Infantry Battalion, there are three traffic lights, one near the Kwesimintsim Police Station near the taxi rank and just before the military base. Out of the three, only one functions intermittently.
These developments are creating a very serious problem on the roads and most people who suffer these inconveniences on the roads are the visitors who are not familiar with the situation in the city.
Available information indicates that the Department of Urban Roads has not paid the contractor working on the lights so the department could not hold them for the lack of maintenance of the lights at the various intersections.
The traffic lights aside, the road markings on various roads in the metropolis are either faint or completely faded.
At Zebra Crossings, one have to be very careful because the markings are not visible and the situation is worse at night. The MTTU of the Ghana Police Service are doing their best but the malfunctioning of the lights does not augur well for the metropolis.
It would do the road users in the metropolis a lot of good if the traffic lights were attended to and the roads are properly marked to avert any eventualities.
In any case, members of the Community Police under the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) have been deployed to some locations that are considered to be hot spots to help save the situation.