That means a cyclist has the right to use the road without any horn hooting or
harassment of the rider by other road users. Integrated transport policy is not
viable without the implementation of structures allowing the development of
cycling.
There are many reasons the bicycle is essential to users. The
bicycle enables one to get somewhere very fast when there is a traffic hold-up. It is energizing to use a bicycle, and it eliminates stress.
Among all transport, it is the cheapest, as you don’t need fuel and no license is required. Ecologically, the manufacturing and use of a bicycle, as well as the planning of space for its use, create much less solid waste and no pollution.
In Ghana, bicycles play a major role as a means of transport in the North for farmers who have no other means of getting to their farms and homes. However, at the moment, bicycles are fast emerging as an urban means of transport in Europe.
Transportation is a problem in most big cities. It is therefore not a crime for a cyclist to get to work or wherever he intends to go on a bicycle. However, on the road, some road users think the cyclist has no right at all to be on the street. They torment cyclists with the blaring of horns and even scream at them at times.
It is very frustrating to most drivers when a cyclist is ahead of them or at any inconvenient place along the road, since bicycles can cause traffic on a busy road.
Some cyclists have contributed to road accidents many times, but that doesn’t mean that they have no right to use the road; after all, are motorists also involved in road accidents?
Walking through the city of Accra, there is nowhere one can find a bicycle
route on the side of the major roads. For example, the Accra–Kasoa road is a
very well-constructed road, but it was constructed without any bicycle
lane.
In Europe, a circulation plan aiming to develop cycling was approved in the ’80s. Revised annually, it considers the implementation of a network of cycle lanes and the transformation of parking places into bicycle parking.
This network is built in order to reinforce the safety of cyclists, with stop signposts placed before those for cars and crossroads redesigned for cyclists.
In Ghana, roads are constructed without any consideration for bicycle users. Nothing is planned in the country by taking the future into consideration.
I believe that if the government implements the construction of bicycle
routes in its future projects, there will be a free flow of traffic in the
cities, and that would also help to reduce the traffic holdups that motorists
are currently facing.
It’s a well-known fact that a lack of finance is one of the major setbacks
affecting Africa’s infrastructure and projects. But if a specific project would
be a solution or an answer to a problem, then the government should take it
into consideration.
For example, in Europe, to prevent traffic jams and ensure the safety of
cyclists, the Netherlands has been successful with bicycle routes running throughout
the towns and cities. A journey of about 50 to 100 km could easily be done by bicycle.
In Trondheim, Norway, a bicycle lift has been put up in the center of the town
to facilitate access to another town called Brubakken, and in Belgium, a bicycle tunnel has been built under the sea to link the two cities of Antwerp and
Linkeroever.
It takes ten to twelve minutes to go to Linkeroever from the city of
Antwerp, while the bus takes about twenty minutes.
As Ghana gradually matures into a great nation, the government must include the
construction of bicycle routes in its future road projects. Bicycles play a
very significant role, not only as a means of transport but also as a promoter of good
health.