Don’t design pedestrian bridges in your ‘rooms’ – Engineer tells colleagues

Engineer George Asiedu has said that Ghanaians do not patronize newly constructed footbridges because engineers do not consult with stakeholders to determine the practicality of such projects for the convenience of pedestrians.

He raised this concern in relation to parliament’s approval of a €28.5 million contract agreement for the construction of fourteen (14) pedestrian bridges at hazardous locations in three regions of Ghana.

In an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, the Engineer lamented: “We don’t do much stakeholder engagements in these things. We design the things in our room and then we bring it out and lay rules on how to use it. When it happens that way, there is conflict. If you don’t consult with the people, it could happen that the project will not be used by the people because of the difficulty in using it”.

Proposing a solution to this problem, he said, “Going forward, we must engage with the people living in the area. The footbridge must be done in such a way that it can be used by the people, rather than focusing more on imposing the use of the footbridge using the police”.

It can be recalled that a considerable number of lives of were lost through road accidents on our highways that did not have pedestriann bridges. Some of these occurrences prompted the government to construct pedestrian bridges on some of these highways.

Late last year, residents of Adentan and Madina protested six uncompleted footbridges on the stretch, complaining about the many lives lost crossing the speedways.

However, more pedestrians were still using the speedways and crossing the road at unauthorized places at Madina Zongo Junction, at the risk of their lives, instead of patronizing the newly constructed footbridge that was built to meet their needs.

While many of those who avoided using the bridge complained of the height of the bridge, others were of the view that the engineers did not consider the practicality of the use of the bridges.