Dear Editor,
The spate of pedestrian knock-downs compelled the government to construct footbridges on the Madina-Adenta highway.
It is important to note that the government intervened following constant agitation by citizens along the stretch over the many lives that were being lost almost on a daily basis due to the non-existence of footbridges in the area.
Perharps one of the inicidents which cannot be erased from their memory was the death of a West African Senior High School (WASS) student who was knocked down by a speeding vehicle.
As a regular commuter on that road, I am still at a loss over how some citizens continue to cross the road without using the footbridges they asked the government to build for them.
About two years ago, we saw how the Madina-Adenta local task force and the Ghana Police Service (GPS) attempted to enforce the use of the footbriges by arresting and issuing instant punishment to some culprit.
Cleary, the exercise could not be sustained and some of the residents have returned to their old ways. As it stands drivers and pedestrians somehow continue to ‘battle’ one another over who is the rightful ‘owner’ of the road.
Some traders have also extended their businesses to parts of the footbridges. The least said about the chaos on the Adenta main road, the better.
I, therefore, wish to encourage individuals especially along the Madina-Adenta stretch to cherish their lives and cross the road safely at the exact places that have been demarcated and use footbridges at all times, where it has been provided.
Let me empahsise that part of the road is a highway because drivers usually drive at top speed and they sometimes find it difficult to slow down for pedestrians to cross. This was the reason the footbridges were built, and we must all ensure it serves the intended purpose.
George Obeng Osei, Dodowa.