By Emmanuel Gamson, GNA
Takoradi, Sept. 03, GNA – Ms Matilda Ohenewaa Bekoe, a PhD Candidate at the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, New Mexico State University, says government must prioritise the safety of pedestrians in the design and construction of road infrastructure in the country’s major cities.
According to her, pedestrians often encountered missing or discontinuous sidewalks, open drains, unpaved shoulders, parked vehicles and other obstructions that jeopardised their safety along major busy roads.
Ms Bekoe, who is a researcher on active mobility and transportation policy, said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA).
She said while pedestrian fatalities had been attributed to individual behaviours, the role of inadequate infrastructure received far less scrutiny.
She said: “There is something fundamentally wrong with a transportation system that guarantees continuous space for vehicles while forcing pedestrians to improvise.
“A road cannot be considered complete simply because vehicles move smoothly. If a child cannot safely cross it, if an older person cannot comfortably walk beside it, and if a wheelchair user cannot navigate it, then it is incomplete.”
Ms Bekoe, therefore, called for a deliberate shift towards building or upgrading existing road infrastructure to guarantee the safety of pedestrians.
“Our cities are still growing and our transportation systems are still evolving, but we can integrate sidewalks, safe crossings, curb ramps, cycling facilities, and traffic calming into road projects from the outset by following examples such as Kigali’s integration of non-motorised transport into urban planning,” she stated.
She noted that this approach would require dedicated funding, clear accountability, and protection of existing pedestrian space from obstruction.
“Ghana does not need to stop building roads; it needs to stop building them as though the people inside vehicles are the only people who matter,” Ms Bekoe added.
GNA
Edited by Justina Hilda Paaga /Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Emmanuel Gamson
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