TIG Post

Tag: footbridge

  • Work begins on DR Congo footbridge that collapsed during launch

    Works have begun on a footbridge that collapsed during inauguration in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a charity group in the country, DJCEP, has revealed.

    The footbridge collapsed when officials cut a red ribbon during the inauguration ceremony.

    The incident caused outrage on social media as users questioned the quality of its construction.

    It is believed the footbridge was built by people who lacked the necessary skills and miscalculated the amount of cement needed in the concrete to make it strong enough.

    The charity called DJCEP that backed the project now says a new footbridge will be built at the same site that will meet safety standards.

    It tweeted pictures of workers demolishing the old structure:

  • Footbridges on ‘holiday’ – Pedestrians put lives at risk on roads

    Pedestrians have abandoned many footbridges meant to aid their movements across some major roads in Accra and continue to jaywalk at the cost of their lives.

    While the footbridges lie predominantly idle, some of the pedestrians, including children, meander their way through moving vehicles as they move from one side of the road to the other.

    Some of them also jump over walls and barricades in their bid to cross over to other sides of the road, putting their lives and those of other road users in danger.

    Additionally, some traders have converted the footbridges into shops where they display their merchandise while taxi drivers have turned the base of the bridges into car parks and stations.

    Observations

    This came to light when the Daily Graphic team visited some parts of Accra over a one-month period ending Thursday, July 30, this year, to assess the usage of some footbridges by pedestrians.

    The team visited the footbridges located at Atomic Junction, Madina Zongo Junction, Nkwantanang, Taifa, Lapaz, Sakaman and Kaneshie.

    Among other things, the team observed that pedestrians, especially hawkers, had created their own (imaginary) zebra crossings under footbridges from where they crossed the roads with impunity.

    Petty traders had also taken over some of the footbridges by displaying their wares to cash in on members of the public who were compliant enough to use the facility.

    When the team got to the Madina Zongo Junction footbridge at about 3:30 p.m., the facility had been virtually deserted as pedestrians threw caution to the wind and battled with vehicles to cross the road.

    Traders had also taken over both the base and top of the footbridge in a desperate attempt to earn their livelihood.

    The situation at the Nkwantanang and other footbridges was not different from that of Madina Junction.

    Some traders used the footbridges as a resting place to regain energy to continue their work, while beggars had also pitched camp to ply their trade.

    At the Lapaz footbridge, the team observed that although barricades had been provided at the facility to compel people to use it, many pedestrians still defied the odds and scaled the barricades.

    Flimsy excuses

    Some of the pedestrians the Daily Graphic spoke to gave flimsy excuses for not using the footbridge.

    For instance, at the Madina Zongo Junction footbridge, 40-year-old Samuel Dogbe and others complained that they seldom used the footbridge because it was too long and, therefore, took too much of their time.

    “You see, it will take me about 20 seconds to walk across from where I am to the other end of the road, but if I have to use this long footbridge, I can spend about five to seven minutes,” he said.

    For 52-year old Sarah Afumuah Boateng, a trader, she gets too tired climbing the footbridge and will rather manage her way through vehicles.

    When asked if she knew the implications of failing to use the footbridge, she said: “I know that I can be involved in an accident at any time; even this last Tuesday, a car knocked someone here. But God will protect me.”

    Concerns

    In the view of Ms Linda Kyere, many pedestrians were disinterested in using the footbridge because there was greater motivation to ignore its use.

    “The footbridge is too long and there is even no barricade along the road to compel people to use the bridge, so I do not blame them entirely”.

    “If there was a net here to serve as a barricade like what has been done at the Kaneshie footbridge, no one could have crossed from one end of the road to the other without using the footbridge,” he said.

    In defence of their decisions to turn the base of the footbridge into a car park and station, a taxi driver, Mr Sam Abotsi, said that was the only way out because there was no space anywhere to park.

    Offence

    Section three of the Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 (LI 154) states: “A pedestrian who fails to use the footbridge or underpass where one is provided commits an offence. A person who contravenes this regulation is liable to a summary conviction, a fine not more than five penalty units or a term of imprisonment not more than seven days or both.”

    When the Daily Graphic contacted the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) on what would be done to ensure that the footbridges are put to good use, the Public Relations Manager of the authority, Ms Diana Seade, said the authority had fulfilled its mandate by constructing footbridges to ensure the safety of pedestrians.

    She said the GHA had gone ahead to sensitise road users to the importance of using the facility for their own safety but it was worrying that some of them still risked their lives to cross the road at unauthorised areas.

    Collective responsibility

    Responding to a question on the way forward to reverse the trend, she said collective responsibility by all stakeholders was required to scale the challenge.

    Ms Seade added that the primary responsibility of enforcing the law fell on the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service.

    “The police have, most of the time, educated these people and gone ahead to arrest some of them but surprisingly, the irresponsible attitude is still ongoing and such culprits keep exposing themselves and other road users to danger,” she said.

    Ms Seade urged members of the public to be responsible for their own safety, stressing that “the protection of lives on the road is 99 per cent the sole responsibility of the individual.”

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Beon-Tankoo residents appeal to govt to fix broken footbridge

    The residents of Beon-Tankoo Electoral Area in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region have appealed to the government to fix a broken down footbridge on the Akanyonga River to facilitate the free movement of goods and services in the area.

    Expressing the concern on behalf of the residents at a durbar of chiefs and people of Beon traditional area on Monday, the Assembly Member for the area, Mr Emmanuel Ayinpanga Akolgo, said the absence of the footbridge in the area had brought huge discomfort not only to the residents of Beon-Tankoo but to several adjoining communities in the district.

    He said the footbridge collapsed in 2013 and the people of the area for the past seven years had been faced with difficulties in transporting themselves across the Akanyonga and other adjoining markets.

    “Persistent appeals to the Bongo District Assembly and successive Members of Parliament (MPs) for the area to have the footbridge fixed have not yielded any positive results,” the Assemblyman claimed.

    He said was what worsening the situation was that during the rainy season, “teachers and students are forced to stay out of school and most market women and other traders are unable to transport their goods to Akanyonga market, one of the biggest market centres in the Bongo District.”

    He said the situation posed a challenge for the residents who lived across the collapsed footbridge to access healthcare.

    “All activities in the area come to a halt whenever there is a downpour,” Mr Akolgo stressed.

    According to the Assembly Member, the people of Beon-Tankoo were predominantly farmers, hence the urgent need for the government to fix the footbridge to help cart their farm produce to market centres.

    He mentioned the uncompleted state of the Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compound at Tankoo as another major problem confronting the community and stated that the facility is expected to reach out to a population of more than 20,000 people in the area.

    Mr Akolgo said the project was started in 2008 and several appeals to successive governments to complete it “is yet to receive the needed attention.”

    He appealed to both the District Chief Executive (DCE) of the area, Mr Peter Ayimbisa as well as the MP for Bongo, Mr Edward Bawa, to help complete work on the facility to address the health challenges of the residents, particularly maternal health-related cases.

     

    Source: ghanaiantimes.com.gh

  • Rotten footbridge now deathtrap for school children

    Pupils on island communities in the Ada East District of the Greater Accra Region risk drowning as they sometimes swim across streamlets of the Volta Lake before arriving at school, as a result of broken footbridges.

    The development has become a major concern to parents as several calls for authorities to fix the problem have yielded no positive results. The most affected communities include Aflive, Adjim and Perdiatorkorpe, all in the Aflive-Alorkpem-Azizakpe Electoral Area of the Ada East District Assembly.

    The Member of Parliament for Ada East, Comfort Doyo Kudjoe Ghansah soon after her maiden election in 2012, constructed the wooden footbridges in question over the streamlets to link the above communities.

    Eight years down the line, the woods have all rotten and the four footbridges have virtually broken down, exposing the school children to danger. Pupils sometimes during high tides, fall in the streamlets when crossing, and as a result, arrive at school with wet school uniforms and books. Others even return home as a result of their books being destroyed in attempts to cross at all cost, or they are unable to walk on such scary skeletal structures.

    Women in labour from other communities are flanked by able men and carried to the nearest CHIPS compound at Perdiatorkorpe due to the bad nature of the wooden footbridges. A lady recently lost her baby after delivering in the middle of the journey when she was being taken to the health center.

    Evans Larweh, a Unit Committee Member said the present situation is affecting commuting, especially school children. He, therefore, appealed to the authorities to give their present predicament urgent attention before disaster strikes.

    Nyemingor Kisseh, a parent also says most of the time adults fall in the streamlets with their luggage when using the bridges, adding that she is compelled to keep her children at home due to the prevailing circumstance.

    Atinkaonline met some pupils who were returning from school who said the situation discourages them from going to school each day, as they feel rejected by authorities and pleaded with the assembly to come to their aid.

    Source: atinkaonline.com