INDISCRIMINATE PARKING CAUSES ACCIDENTS (PAGE 25)

INDISCRIMINATE parking of heavy duty trucks loaded with cocoa and other haulage trucks without appropriate reflectors on the streets of Takoradi Metropolis, had been identified as the major cause of accidents in the Twin-City of Sekondi/Takoradi.
The trucks are mostly parked by the Beach roads near the Takoradi Port, Harbour View Hotel, Fijai Function and other parts of the metropolis.
Most of these illegal parking places are also said to provide hot spots for alleged anti-social activities by the truck drivers and their mates.
According to police sources, last year, 10 pedestrians who tried crossing the road at where the trucks were parked, were knocked down by on-coming vehicles, while some vehicles also ran into the parked trucks.To avert danger, last year the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service and the Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC) Division of the Ghana Cocoa Board managed to find a parking space for these trucks at Apowa, about 6 km from the city.
But for some time now, some of the trucks loaded with cocoa and other consignments are gradually parking on the streets in the metropolis. The situation is very bad at the Fijai Junction, where the trucks have been parking on both sides of the road, as well as some parts of the main Accra-Takoradi highway.
The road linking Fijai and Accra-Takoradi is a very strategic one in the sense that, in case of emergency, ambulance services using that road easily have access to the Western Regional Hospital which is Effia-Nkwanta at Sekondi.
That aside, the Regional Command of the Ghana National Fire Service, and Ghana Ambulance Service are also located on this dual carriage road.
But sadly the congestion on the road makes accessibility difficult in case of emergency.
That aside, road engineers maintain that the constant smearing of the asphalt road with gas oil drips affects the durability of the road. Interestingly most of these trucks change their oil on the shoulders of the roads, while mechanics carry out the maintenance of their trucks on the roads.
The Public Relations Officer of the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, Mr John Laste, said although the Assembly in partnership with the haulage truck owners, had secured a place at Mpintsim to be developed into a terminal for the trucks, the assembly was not getting the necessary support from the haulage truck owners.
When contacted, the Regional MTTU Commander, Mr Adusa Poku, said the issue had come to the attention of the unit.
The Regional MTTU commander said it was necessary for every road user to abide by road safety regulations as a positive step to curb road accidents, adding that “the country cannot afford to lose its rich human resource through negligence on the part of road users.”
He said the shoulders of the road served specific purposes and should not be used as a parking lot.
He said despite efforts by the police to deal with the wrongful parking of the trucks and other vehicles, some drivers were very recalcitrant and warned that the police would continue to deal with the drivers to instil discipline in the drivers.
The problem of congestion in the Central Business District of the twin-city as a result of wrongful parking, street hawking and the erection of unauthorised structures, still persist and the assembly says it is doing everything possible to ensure sanity.