Ghana's Road Medians; Are They Ornamental Establishments Or Deliberate Sand Heaps?

Globally, medians are important element of road designs and architecture and Ghana is certainly not an exception.

However, the sad reality is the parody of purpose the Ghanaian medians are seemingly left to serve.

Obviously, preponderance of roads in Ghana's major cities and important towns are inundated with median strips usually made of grass establishments leaving a few with concrete pavements.

Regrettably, with time the beautiful scenery from median strips dressed with lawns and decorated flowers turn miserable display.

Unfortunately, the sad reality is what beams at us as commuters and road users. Road medians have turn sand heaps of weeds over time and instituions of state looks on unconcerned.

Whereas medians are primarily built to function as decorated green areas to beautify roadways to reduce monotony whiles driving, same cannot be said about Ghana.

Ghana's road medians have turn deliberate sand heaps with overgrown weeds enough to host grasscutter. But for the intermittent interventions of unknown good samaritans who set fire to clear bushy weeds and plants which freely grows on medians, several of them in the capital would have developed into forest conservation areas.

Grass establishments and lawns which ordinarily requires regular care and attention by way of mowing and pruning are left unkept and bushy to form lilliput of mountains.

This abhorrence feeds into inoperative blanket culture of maintenance in Ghana where the state invest so much in public infrastructure but are mostly left to deteriorate without caring for them.

In the instance case of road medians, the state has Department of Parks and Gardens established in 1961 by the enactment of the Local Government Act 54 with the exclusive mandate to improve rapid development of horticultural potential of our urban and rural sectors of the country.

We have the Department of Urban Roads in whose roads have the lawns and ornamental plants been established.

One can talk of the Local Assemblies which administer political and administrative authority in various jurisdictions.

There is Motor Traffic and Transport Directorate and National Road Safety Commission which are collectively responsible for road safety. That notwithstanding, it appears there is lack of inter ministerial and agency collaboration which requires emergency remedy.

Public agencies with the mandate to care and maintain road medians in Ghana who have consistently shuffled off their responsibility must sit up.

Kweku Ampong

Awutu Bawjiase

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