The Traffic Safety Enhancement Works on the London Market Street in Jamestown, an Accra suburb, have begun as part of attempts to decrease road collisions and consequent fatalities.
The improvements are being carried out by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) in collaboration with the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) and are being funded by the World Resources Institute (WRI) through its Tactical Urbanism Programme. They are expected to be completed in May of this year.
The work includes delineating travel lanes by marking road lines and pedestrian crossings, installing a 30km/hr speed limit sign, speed ramps, rumble strips, and shrinking broader lanes.
Kelly Larson, Director of Projects at Bloomberg Philanthropies, visited the site on Friday and watched the installation of speed ramps between the Sacred HEART Technical Institute and the Adedenkpo 1&2 school.
The intervention comes in response to the conclusions of a study on road traffic mortality for the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (2018-2020), which highlighted Nii Adja Kwao Road/London Market Street in James Town as one of the AMA's hotspots.
Vehicles, on the other hand, were found to be traveling at speeds above 60 km/h within the zone, with traffic volumes being particularly high at peak hours.
Kelly Larson, speaking to the media following the familiarization tour, stated that the overall goal of the project was to assist the city of Accra in reducing road crashes, injuries, and fatalities, beating speed, redesigning the street, and increasing awareness on road safety to promote the wearing of seat belts, managing speed, and obeying traffic regulations, among other things.
Kelly Larson previously met with NRSA Board Chair Germain Nkrumah to discuss various interventions being used to prevent road accidents in the country.
Elizabeth Kwatsoe Tawiah Sackey, Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), prior to the start of the upgrade works
The corridor evaluation found a high level of pedestrian activity owing to the presence of schools, religious organizations, and other land uses along the route, as well as the lack of posted speed limit signs, pedestrian crossings, and road line-markings.
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