Accra’s Traffic Crisis Worsens — Is It the Rain or Just Poor Planning Catching Up With Us?
Just last week, I spent two and a half hours getting from Lapaz to the Airport area. Two. And a half. Hours. For a trip that should’ve taken 30 minutes, max. I was so frustrated I almost left my Uber to finish the journey on foot. (But then the rain started, and well… I wasn’t about to swim through a flooded street in white sneakers.)
Welcome to Accra—where the traffic has officially reached “Are you kidding me?” levels.
It’s not like this is brand new. We’ve always had traffic. But these days, it feels like the city’s roads are just giving up. Throw in some heavy rain—like the ones we’ve had lately—and everything just crumbles. Flooded streets, broken-down cars, intersections turned into lakes. And the cherry on top? Zero traffic lights working where you need them most.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was just being dramatic until I started chatting with a trotro driver who said, “Boss, nowadays Accra traffic no be traffic again, e be punishment.” And you know what? He’s kinda right.
In my experience, it’s a mix of things. Poor drainage. Bad road planning. Way too many cars for the size of the city. And let’s not forget the “human factor”—drivers stopping in the middle of the road to buy roasted plantain or passengers hopping off trotro in the middle of traffic like it’s a sidewalk.
But here's what hit me: while the roads are overflowing, so are the gutters. The heavy rains this year have exposed something we’ve all been ignoring—our city just isn’t built to handle it. The drainage is outdated, the road networks are overloaded, and honestly, the maintenance is practically nonexistent. How are we supposed to move if the roads themselves are drowning?
I might be wrong, but it feels like no matter how many flyovers we build or roundabouts we redesign, we’re just slapping makeup on a broken face. We need more than quick fixes. We need a real, strategic rethink of how Accra moves—or doesn’t.
And let’s talk about the people who suffer the most. It’s not just the folks in air-conditioned cars scrolling Spotify playlists. It’s the market women who leave home at 4 a.m. only to get stuck till 8. It’s students arriving late to class drenched because their school is a two-hour commute in a storm. It’s delivery riders dodging potholes the size of mini-pools. This traffic thing isn’t just about inconvenience—it’s affecting productivity, health, even relationships (seriously, try explaining being late for a date because “the road was like a river”).
So, what’s the real solution here? Better public transport? Smarter city planning? Actually finishing the drainage projects we started three years ago?
All I know is, if we keep treating Accra like it’s some small town that just needs a few more traffic lights, we’re in for a long ride. Literally.
Here’s a question worth asking: What will Accra look like in 10 years if we keep driving forward without changing direction?
Because from where I’m sitting—in the backseat of yet another gridlocked Uber—it’s not looking too promising.
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