NEW IMPROVED TRAFFIC LIGHTS FOR TAMALE METRO

(Daily Graphic, Oct 31, 2011, Page 23)

WORK is ongoing to replace all existing traffic lights in the Tamale metropolis with newly-improved LED traffic lights together with overhead gantries.

This forms part of a national project that is being executed by Angel Data and Telecom Services in five major cities in Ghana.

Currently, the old traffic lights are located at the Agric, Melcom, Bus Stop, Taxi Rank, Central Mosque and Barclays Bank intersections.

However, for several months, these traffic lights have remained non-functional, thereby creating a situation where vehicles and humans competed for the right of way, especially in the absence of personnel of the Community Policing Unit.

The installation of the new traffic lights is therefore expected to bring some relief to road users by easing the congestion at the major intercessions.

During a visit to one of the sites, the Daily Graphic learnt that, in addition to replacing the old ones, the LED traffic lights would also be installed at some intersections in the metropolis that currently have no traffic lights.

Mr Promise Apeke, a project supervisor mentioned the Public Works Department (PWD)-Prisons Canteen junction and the Aboabo-West Hospital-Nyohini intersection.

Information available to this paper indicates that there were proposals for the installation of the new traffic lights at the Jisonayili junction, but the engineers declined to do so because one of the link roads to that intersection has not been tarred.

In an interview, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA), Mr Issah Musah said Tamale was fortunate to be included in the list of beneficiary cities for the traffic lighting project.

“Of late we have been experiencing a lot of traffic jam due to an increase in human and vehicular population in the city. When the lights begin to function, we expect to see a significant reduction in the traffic situation,” he stated.

“You can see from the installation that they have been well fortified and would not crumble easily when crushed by motorbikes and vehicles,” he added.

Mr Musah said the project, which commenced about three months ago, was a little behind schedule due to some technical challenges, but expressed the hope that the installations would be finished by the end of the year.

He entreated the residents of Tamale, particularly motorists, to observe traffic regulations and slow down when approaching the traffic lights so as to avoid any possibility of crushing into the newly-installed traffic lights.