Lukewarm attitudes of the Urban Roads Dept in Kumasi are killing innocent citizens on the Sofoline highway.
A special appeal has gone to the relevant authorities to help curb the challenges which for the past years been confronting the passengers and the general public who do business along the Kumasi Sofoline highway.
Sofoline is one of the most busiest commercial and lorry terminal in Kumasi lacking several facilities to control traffic among other things.
The situation has resulted to several road clashes claiming innocent lives on daily basis, but the authorities continue to be reluctant to find solutions to it.
The correspondent learnt that the only traffic light which serve the area was destroyed by a careless driver on March 16, 2020, and since then nothing has been done to restore the problem, whilst accidents and deaths continue to occur at Sofoline.
Speaking to the Manager of the terminal, Mr. Kwesi Boamah, he expressed worry about the situation of Sofoline and the rate of accidents that have been claiming lives of innocent citizens.
Mr Boamah said since the destruction of the only one traffic light in 2020, he has appealed to the relevant authorities several times to help restore the situation but to no avail.
Currently there is no traffic light nor a sign of zebra crossing at Sofoline therefore we have to volunteer and direct traffic.
He posited that there is only one bypass and one foot bridge that are distance away and cannot serve Sofoline highway all along.
Mr Boamah who also doubles as the Sofoline-Atonsu Super branch chairman of the Gprtu asserted that an emergency meeting held with the Ashanti regional Director of the Urban Roads Dept, Mr Gambrah at the Kwadaso Municipal Assembly recently on the Sofoline subject was half way not encouraging.
Gambrah told us that we cannot define Sofoline road to be a highway after which he assured to take action on the traffic light and zebra crossing within three weeks time.
But the irony of the case according to Boamah was that the very day they organized the meeting, vehicles knocked down and killed three pedestrians including a Union member at Sofoline due to lack of traffic light and zebra crossing.
Mr Boamah said the appeals to the Urban Roads Dept are too much and that if need be the whole Union members operating on the terminal would storm the Sofoline highway and voluntarily give their lives to the drivers to end it so as to end the controversy at Sofoline.
Chairman Boamah related that the Sofoline incidents intensity from 3-7pm every day after they have left the scenes to their offices.
He also partly allegedly linked the carnages on the Sofoline road to the negligence of the police on duty during such hours who refuse to arrest the careless and recalcitrant drivers.
Meanwhile several attempts to reach the Urban Roads Dept’s Director, Mr Gambrah office for his reaction proved futile as we fail to meet him.
Police also however assured to apply the laws on the careless drivers at Sofoline, an official who prefers incognito confided in the reporter.
