TWIN-CITY TRAFFIC NOT BEST (PAGE 19)

The vehicular and human traffic situation in the twin-city of Sekondi/Takoradi is getting out of hand as the assembly, after the initial decongestive exercise undertaken in the metropolis, has allowed vehicles to park anywhere.
The Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly seems to be overwhelmed by the present level of congestion.The oil find has brought about a significant increase in the number of vehicles and migrants to the metropolis.
Many institutions, especially financial institutions and business concerns, as well as others in the service sector, are relocating to the metropolis.
Economic activities have increased around the market circle, and as such, there are more than 12 financial institutions, many supermarkets, private offices, shops and heavy hawking around the market.
The pavements have also been taken over by dealers in various currencies, the black market, and pedestrians are forced to compete with vehicles on the street.
Vehicles, both commercial and private, park on both sides of the road from the market towards the Harbour Roundabout and others within the Central Business District (CBD) to enable them to enter the banks or shops from the main market and its shoulders.
Driving to and from Esikafonambantem Number two, Paa Grant, Edzie or Harbour Roundabouts towards the market has, therefore, become a problem.
At the end of the third quarter of last year, the assembly suspended its towing services which seemed to inject some form of sanity in the parking of vehicles.
Interestingly, fees are collected from those who park on the wrong side of the roads, thus rendering it impossible for the assembly to enforce its regulations.
The Takoradi Central Market structure is itself very weak, with cracks all over, exposing people to all forms of danger but for the purposes of advertising, some companies have painted the building to make it look less dangerous.
In most cases, the assembly’s guards and officials who are supposed to help in enforcing law and order are more interested in collecting G20p from drivers and allowing them to park anyhow.
Most of the hawkers have also returned to the streets. Those who were moved from the market circle have comfortably settled on other streets around the CBD.
Shop owners who earlier said there was some form of relief when the hawkers were taken off the streets now said the assembly had lost control of the situation.
Those aside, commercial drivers have turned the frontage of every supermarket within the CBD into a loading bay.
They, on many occasions, prevent shoppers and pedestrians from entering the shops and the demeanour of the drivers, on many occasions, results in fierce confrontations between them and passers-by.
A fuel station, popularly known as Ezi Goil Station, has had half of its station taken over by taxi and other commercial drivers.
From what is happening in the metropolis, it is likely that the assembly would have to spend a lot of money to decongest the metropolis again, if nothing is done about it immediately.
The Takoradi District Commander, DSP Dela Dzansi, said he was doing everything possible to ensure that sanity prevailed in the metropolis.