By Alfred Koroma
The First Lady, Fatima Bio has urged the Ministry of Transport and Aviation and other stakeholders to educate the people about the use of traffic lights and the pedestrian bridges within Freetown.
The First Lady was speaking at the opening of the new Transit Terminal and the official turning on of the traffic lights in Lumley, Freetown.
“…we don’t only need to do a symbolic turning of these lights, but we also need to educate the people about what a traffic light means,” she said in a statement that was meant to introduce her husband before his speech.
Designed to make movement within the city organized and orderly, the terminal, together with the traffic lights and the pedestrian bridges in busy roads are part of a 52 million dollar project supported by the World Bank under the Integrated Urban Mobility and Resilience.
Traffic lights are for drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and the pedestrian bridges are built to ensure safe crossings over busy roads.
But not many people are using the bridges to cross, and respect for the red, yellow, and green signals of the traffic lights remains a significant concern, largely due to lack of awareness.
“We need to educate the people that, when it is green, it means, vehicles should pass. When it is red, it means, humans should pass,” the First Lady said.
“I pass through Lumley every day and I see: when the light is green that’s when people pass; when it is red – when they should pass, that’s when everyone stands waiting,” she added.
In his statement, President Bio said the success of the facilities depends on citizens, urging everyone to take ownership of the facilities and their sustainability.
He thanked World Bank, saying “these achievements we celebrate today have been made possible by the World Bank and the Transport Ministry and Aviation.”
The Transport Minister, Alhaji Fanday Turay as well thanked the President for providing the leadership that delivers for citizens.
“When we talk about delivery, this is a classic example of delivery. When we talk about leadership, this is another example of delivery, he said, referring to the new terminal, the traffic lights, the pedestrian bridges and the Waka Fine Buses.
