Bogoso; Municipal Assembly orders vehicles loading passengers on street to stop.

The Prestea Huni-Valley Municipal Lorry Park Committee of the Municipal Assembly has on Wednesday August 22, 2018 taking a move to avert any future dangers on the Bogoso main street as vehicles parked there at night signals accident.

The proactive move by the committee was premised on a complaint the citizenry in the municipal capital, Bogoso and commuters have complained for the past three years.

At the meeting held at the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipal Assembly complex, the Lorry Park Management Committee settled that, all vehicles, commercial and none commercial must be moved from the allotted areas where vehicles stop for passengers to alight or board.

The major concern that came to light was the way and manner at which vehicular traffic builds up between the hours of 8:00pm and 9:30pm on the main road that links other towns, as ford and VIP buses park unlawfully on the opposite sides, reducing the road to just a single lane.

A representative from the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (G.P.R.T.U) at the meeting assured the committee to do their best to clear all their vehicles from the main road.

The chairman for Bogoso Branch, Mr. Kojo Appiah said, the decision by the committee from the assembly is a good move and that his outfit will make sure vehicles under their watch will be evacuated from the street.

“We from Bogoso GPRTU have accepted to move all our vehicles from the street, starting from today. Just to make way for free movement of cars. We are therefore calling on all passengers to pick a car at the main station and not on the street” Mr. Appiah said.

On his part, the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipal Boss of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Francis Abeiku Yankah reiterated the need for individuals transport providers to also take the safety of pedestrians into consideration to avoid unfortunate happenings.

He stated that, the move by the committee is a step in the right direction to avoid any future disaster.

In conclusion, the committee settled on moving the buses from the unauthorized loading points on the road.

The Prestea Huni-Valley Chief Executive Hon. Mozart Owuh who chaired the meeting said, the vehicles should be off the streets latest by Monday August 27, 2018.

Failure to do so will allow the law to deal with the recalcitrant.

Hon. Owuh said, the committee has given VIP buses three areas to be used as station and that must be decided within the time frame.

BACKGROUND
Between the hours of 8:00 and 9:30 each night in the capital of Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality, Bogoso, pedestrians and drivers are exposed to endure minutes of unending vehicular traffic on the main road.

The road which also serves as a link to Prestea, Wassa Akropong, Kumasi and Tarkwa have to be busy with vehicular traffic, both light vehicles and heavy trucks, putting more stress on workers and traders who have closed for the day.

Persistent calls from the residents and commuters who ply that road clearly exposed the dangers it poses.

These complaints were being made and heavy vehicular traffic occurring due to the part of the main highway that is used for bus station to load passengers at night.

The VIP buses which load the passengers park at where it is demarcated for vehicles to stop and pick passengers or alight. Due to the parking of the buses at the stopping point, taxis are unbale to stop there anymore during that time, forcing them to stop anywhere on the road to pick passengers, which can cause accident.

Sometimes three buses are parked at the area and lined up to the extent that, you could see the tail end of one of them extending to the main road.

The hours of loading passengers from the area whiles the buses park reduces the road to single lane to be used by long trucks and other vehicles.

It may only take one to sound a horn several times before a way would be created for smooth movement.

However, that takes few minutes and the road would be blocked again just because it has been reduced to one lane as everyone wants to have a way.

As if that is not enough, ford buses are also seen parked just opposite the buses waiting to load the excess passengers of the VIP buses.

Drivers who ply their trade mainly in the Bogoso township have persistently called on the Municipal Assembly to act and relocate the buses.