By Sulaiman Aruna Sesay
The country’s capital, Freetown has lost its reputation for spacious building and smooth traffic flow for which it was well known in West Africa and beyond.
Traffic congestion which many called traffic Jam is now one of social menaces affecting Freetown, a city that was sparsely populated in the pre-war years.
The over-congestion of Freetown continues to raise new questions as the city would look like in coming years if government does not take steps to reduce population in Freetown.
The root for the dense population of Freetown could be traced to the war period when a considerable number of upcountry residents trooped to the city to escape the war.
After the war, most of those who sought refuge and solace in the city did not return to their communities thus swelling an exploded Freetown population.
Sierra Leone Population and Housing census indicates that about 2,000, 000 (Two Million) people reside in Freetown.
The end of the war was also immediately followed by an expansion of the country’s economy especially the private sector thus creating jobs for a large number of youths.
To date, Freetown remains congested while the number of vehicles grows daily.
However, the growing number of vehicles has not helped the endemic transport constraints for which the city is well known.
‘Operation Restore Order’ recently launched by the Sierra Leone Police has failed to restore hope in commuters as the problem still remains.
Ambitious road construction projects pursued by government are yet to make any difference in the traffic congestions as they are far from completion.
Argument on the contrary holds that traffic congestion will continue to badly affect Freetown even if the roads are completed.
Police officers have constantly made their own effort to neutralise the effect of transport jams in Freetown. But, the product of that effort has made little difference.
A traffic police officer on the track would not grant an interview owing to constraints he faced in controlling pedestrian and vehicles.
Kissy Road, Freetown’s heartland is the worst-hit in terms of perennial traffic blocks. The constant traffic at Kissy Road is fastly becoming unbearable, and drivers are seeking alternative means. Almost every day, people find it difficult to freely move from one point to another.
A driver, Mohamed Kamara told this press that the constant traffic on Kissy Road is caused mainly by commercial motorists. Motorbike riders, Kamara says, are all over Kissy Road, and have made it difficult for vehicles to move freely.
Government, he said, took wise decision to stop them using the main Kissy Road and that decision helped ease the traffic problem in the city’s principal streets.
But, the order, Kamara says, has been relaxed and rowdiness and lawlessness has returned to the streets with which he is not comfortable.
“I am not against the movement of motorbike riders on Kissy Road, but they need to be responsible. They have to ride their bikes carefully as there are also people walking on the road,” he says.
Kamara also tells this press that bike riders are reckless and impatient as they hardly wait for a smooth traffic flow. He says the ambition for hot chase for fast money overrides safety concerns among many commercial motorists.
A commercial motorist (Okada rider), Hassan Bangura argues from the contrary angle. He says their presence on Kissy Road has nothing to do with the constant traffic block. He shifted the blame to the traffic wardens for the constant traffic block.
“Traffic wardens are not doing their job. They are busy collecting money from us nearly every day,” he says.
Street trading also has a fair share of the traffic congestion although the Freetown City Council Bye-Law of 2010 prohibits it. Trading on the streets is also one of the principal factors worsening the Kissy Road traffic situation.
Business transactions of various kinds are done there. Commuters, passengers, passers-by and even drivers usually stop for goods thereby creating a crowded condition. A trader on Kissy Road, Isatu Fofana says it would be difficult for her to leave Kissy Road saying she grew up there with street trading.
Madam Fofanah said she started her business on Kissy Road adding that her business had reached a peak she wanted it to be.
During the trade on Kissy Road, she says, many customers have got used to her making it difficult for her to go for a new place. The constant traffic block on Kissy Road is also a major concern for workers and students. Civil and public servants, most times, arrive late for duty in their offices owing to the traffic congestion.
When President Julius Maada Bio took over state governance, he restored discipline in all government offices, and reporting on time for duty is one such measure.
To avoid the wrath of the Presidency, government workers have cause to leave their houses with dizziness and rolled their bodies to bust stops to catch vehicles. Those who cannot adjust become victims of circumstance.
Although there are other bypass roads, Kissy Road remains to be the finest as other roads are not in good form. Students and pupils too are trapped into the traffic nightmare. Most, if not all, always go late for classes, and those at the farthest places are the hardest-hit.