By Mekonnen Teshome – After years of comprehensive study, the World Bank Group and its partners published their results—the “Addis Ababa Sidewalk Safety and Improvement Study”—in 2022. The study showed the various challenges of the city’s sidewalk safety and road infrastructure.
According to the study, problems related to Addis Ababa’s road infrastructure included insufficient sidewalks and poor pedestrian mobility due to ineffective road design, construction and maintenance.
“Across the city, it is common to find locations with inadequate intersections, deficient crossings, missing sidewalk segments, poor accessibility for vulnerable users and even intentional barriers, including guard railings on main avenues. Sidewalks also lack maintenance, being overcome with vegetation, rocks or debris” the study states.
The UN-Habitat also confirms that pedestrians and cyclists in Ethiopia have been overrepresented, and pedestrians are confronted with a very high road-related fatality rate, as 26.7 road deaths per 100,000, inhabitants have record each year. In Addis Ababa, pedestrians represent about 80% of all road crash victims.
The same report states that nearly half of Ethiopian road casualties are between 15 and 29 years old, with children under fifteen and older people making up 15.3 percent. Two out of three victims were male.
Addis Ababa Structural Plan
As to the “Addis Ababa City Structural Plan 2017-2027,” the city did not have comprehensive and safe pedestrian facilities. “The total length of the pedestrian pathways constructed in the last ten years in the city is about 440km, which is almost 12% of total road length. 53% of streets in the city core do not have enough pedestrian facilities. Existing walkways and streets are congested due to on-street parking, passenger and goods loading/unloading activities, and informal trading activities,” it states.
The city’s structural plan has indicated that problems with road furniture, inconsistency of zebra crossings, lack of adequate traffic signs and road markings, numerous U-turns on the same street and a lack of alternative routes contribute to the challenge.
“73% of the streets in the city have no traffic signs. Traffic crashes are high and rising, while the fatality rate has been one of the highest in the world. The implication of high congestion and low road safety on productivity is detrimental.” The City Structural Plan is not only about telling the problems but also about addressing the challenges, it further explains.
The Addis Ababa “Corridor Development”
Considering this strategic plan and the city’s colossal traffic safety challenges, the administration has started implementing its “Addis Ababa City Structural Plan 2017-2027,” mainly improving the sidewalks and road networks.
Addis Ababa City Mayor, Adanech Abiebie, recently announced that the city has completed major walkway developments and that its face has been changed to the better offering comfort and safety for its residents.
She said that her administration has carried out 96 kilometers for pedestrian’s walkways, 100 kilometers bicycle lanes and over 48 kilometers long roads for vehicles as part of the “Corridor” development of the city.
“Some 32 parking lots that can accommodate 6,369 vehicles were built, the mayor added. Also, 85 bus and taxi terminals that serve 268 buses and taxis have been constructed,” the Mayor noted and expressed her conviction that “apart from offering mobility comfort and elegant views, the new multi-billion-dollar walkways and cycle lanes expansions improve the traffic safety in Addis Ababa by reducing road crashes.
She also indicated that the Addis Ababa city administration “is not only building infrastructures but is also adopting various approaches and policies to ensure our roads are traffic crash-free and safe to residents, it includes teaching of drivers, pedestrians and also ensuring vehicles’ safety.”
The Addis Ababa infrastructure renewal aligns with the WHO African Region 2023 Road Safety Status Report recommendations. As a comprehensive approach to road safety in Africa, these include five measures to mitigate the risk of death and injuries: multimodal transport, road users, safe roads, safe vehicles, and post-crash response.
The WHO annual road safety report underlines that road infrastructure design is critical in ensuring road safety outcomes. “By facilitating safe road user behavior and providing an environment that reduces the severity of crashes that occur, safe road infrastructure can substantially reduce the occurrence of crashes, deaths, and serious injuries,” it added.
According to the report, 34 countries report on technical standards for the development of new roads that ensure the safety of all road users in the African Region. Thirty of these countries report using the United Nations or other conventions to inform these standards, and Ethiopia is one of these countries.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed confirmed that the Addis Ababa city administration fully covers all the financial expenditures for the road improvement activities, and no external assistance has been provided. The city administration renovated the Meskel Square-Addis Ababa City Hall project in 2021 for 2.6 Billion Ethiopian Birr. The city government has spent 33 billion Ethiopian Birr to renovate and improve the roads in the capital city.
Almaz Ayalew is a resident of the CMC village in the eastern part of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. She told this writer that she is now extremely happy with the city’s road infrastructure renovation or “Corridor Development” that has created very wide pedestrian walkways, cycling lanes, and green areas all the way from her village to “Megengna.”
She said, “The new development has created a magnificent, relaxed ambiance and view. Above all, it has created a much safer environment by significantly avoiding traffic crashes. I am feeling great as my children can safely move around in traffic-crash-free spaces when coming from school. I am no more paranoid due to this development.”
Another Addis resident, Yodit Alebel, feels comfortable and safe as traffic crashes are reducing in her village, around Tikur Anbesa (Black Lion) High School . ” I used to take taxis to go to school and return, a year ago. But it has been two years since I have used the renovated Winston Churchill Memorial Road, walking on it from home to school and vice versa.”
Yodit says the Winston Churchill Memorial Road, after being renovated along with the famous Meskel Square and inaugurated on June 13, 2021, has been a fantastic walkway for her. “I feel great now when I travel on foot as the road infrastructure and greenery have become spectacular and beautiful since 2021 while I was a grade 9 student.”
She also pointed out that she has never seen a significant traffic crash since the road was restored and upgraded. Instead, it has become a recreational center for the residents as it now embraces many water fountains, greenery, small parks to seat, and beautiful lights during the night.
Mr. Eyob Seyoum, Chairman of the Ethiopian National Road Safety Journalists Union, said that the Addis Ababa city administration’s work as part of the unique “Corridor Development” has resulted in the construction of adequate sidewalks, better infrastructure, adequate traffic signaling, intersection redesigning, proper lighting, and traffic enforcement, enhancing sidewalk safety in the city.
Eyob said that developing safe sidewalks and cycling lanes complements creating awareness among the public. He also hopes that the advanced technologies installed along the new roads in Addis, including intelligent traffic management systems and smart traffic signals, will optimize traffic flow and prevent crashes. Incorporating features like speed bumps, roundabouts, and barriers can also help control vehicle speed and enhance safety at critical points.
Digi International defines intelligent traffic management systems as technology solutions that municipalities can integrate into their traffic cabinets and intersections today for fast, cost-effective improvements in safety and traffic flow on their city street.
The efficient and successful intelligent traffic management systems utilize next-generation hardware and software to optimize traffic infrastructure.
https://www.africandemystifier.com/adcnt/uploads/2024/10/GYTpwcqWQAEKas5.jpgResidents of the city say that the road renovation in Addis Ababa should be expanded to all places of the city
The Renovation is not “A Bed of Roses”
Mayor of Addis Ababa City, Mrs. Adanech Abiebie also recently told a press conference that the process of the vast road renovation effort in the city was not a “Bed of Roses” as it has faced some challenges of aligning the new development with the age-old buildings and infrastructures.
Moreover, she said that it is about bringing about behavioral change among some city residents by using new pedestrian walkways, cycling lanes, and greenery areas. “We have even realized that some people deliberately smash trees on the roads with their vehicles.”
True, residents of Addis Ababa also say that the substantial multi-modal road infrastructure development has not been supported by adequate awareness-raising among the general public and necessary legal frameworks to protect the infrastructure and manage its proper use by the public.
Others also claim that the huge road renovation works in Ababa do not ensure quality construction procedures, relating the effort to a lack of proper study and quality assurance schemes.
In addition, critics assert that various historical buildings and heritages, as well as millions of businesses, have been pulled down due to the road renovation endeavor, which would affect society’s cultural and economic well-being.
Deputy General Manager of Addis Ababa City Traffic Management Authority Engineer Elias Zerga says that his Authority has conducted an assessment on the effect of the new road renovation activities on the city’s traffic flow and safety, and it has shown that significant improvement has been registered in Addis Ababa over the last few years.
“Road development also introduced a new transportation mode, cycling. This has brought a new opportunity to use cycling as a new transportation mode in the corridor projects, which are becoming comfortable facilities for people with disabilities as we now have protected walkways. These have greatly minimized traffic crashes,” the Deputy General Manager said.
The corridor development also creates opportunities for separated taxi and bus terminals, that helps the city manage traffic in an organized manner and, hence, contribute to its traffic safety.
“Parking services have been developed sideways on the main road. We are working to make it more standardized and systemic. We are working to digitalize the parking services by developing proper Parking Management System (PMS) software to modernize the parking management in the city and control drivers and parking fee payments,” Engineer Elias said.
“I think the road renovation is critical and significant to improve the mobility and safety of the city’s traffic. I believe this is a very nice start for Addis Ababa, but it should be expanded to all places in the city,” he added.