By Erica Apeatua Addo
Tarkwa (W/R), Sept. 17, GNA-Mr Kojo Matasa Blay, a policy analyst, has urged the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Assembly to maintain and enforce the existing ban on commercial tricycle operations popularly referred to as “Pragyia” in the municipality.
He suggested that any arrangement permitting tricycle operations in outlying communities should be rejected, as it could become a gateway into Tarkwa.
Mr. Blay gave the advice in an interview with the Ghana News Agency when he shared his views on recent calls for the ban on commercial tricycle operations to be lifted.
He admitted that the concerns raised by commuters and residents about the recent increment in transportation fares were genuine, stressing that, the economic hardship on workers, students, and traders required urgent attention from the assembly.
Mr. Blay warned that the current transportation challenges should not push the assembly to adopt a measure that could lead to more serious and potentially irreversible road-safety and traffic-management problems.
He said in areas where commercial tricycles dominated, issues such as traffic indiscipline, unauthorized stopping and loading, reckless overtaking, disregard for traffic rules, overloading and other unsafe practices by some operators had been reported.
According to him, such practices put passengers, pedestrians, motorists, and other road users at risk, adding that, the assembly should be guided by the need to protect lives and order on its roads.
“The inner roads in Tarkwa are relatively narrow and shared among various users including taxis, private, heavy-duty vehicles, pedestrians, and commercial operators, so brining in many commercial tricycles would add undue pressure to the limited road network,” the policy analyst explained.
He further highlighted roadside loading, indiscriminate stopping and parking, congestion around commercial centre’s, and increased competition for limited road space as key concerns.
He emphasized that beyond cheaper transportation, the assembly needed to access whether introducing pragyia fitted into the assembly’s long-term traffic-management and road-safety objectives.
Regarding the suggestion that pragyia may be permitted to operate in smaller communities while prohibiting them in Tarkwa, he pointed out that it would be difficult to enforce.
He said if pragyia were deemed unsuitable for Central Tarkwa on grounds of traffic, road-safety or infrastructure, those same concerns should guide the policy throughout the municipality.
Mr. Blay called on the assembly to collaborate with adjoining Municipal and District Assemblies, Ghana Police Service, Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and other relevant institutions to stop external operators from turning Tarkwa into a destination for pragyia.
GNA
Edited by Justina Hilda Paaga/Linda Asante Agyei
Reporter Erica Apeatua Addo
erica. [email protected]