Tackling Lagos Traffic Gridlock
Lagos is famous and unique in many ways. It is the sixth largest city in the world and is projected to become the third biggest urban conurbation by 2015. Lagos is the leading non-oil sector contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic product (GDP). With three lighter terminals and two ports, Lagos generates 50% of Nigeria’s port revenue and the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos, is the major hub for aviation within West Africa, and between the region and Europe.
Lagos State is, indeed, blessed by its position as Nigeria’s financial, commercial and industrial nerve centre with over 2,000 manufacturing industries and over 200 financial institutions. The state alone harbours about 60 per cent of the federation’s total industrial investments and foreign trade while also attracting 65 per cent of Nigeria’s commercial activities. It accounts for more than 40 per cent of all labour emoluments paid in the country. Unarguably, Lagos today occupies an important place in the socio-economic equation of Nigeria and indeed the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Like it is with most cosmopolitan cities across the world, it is, perhaps, not strange that Lagos experi- ences continuous queues of vehicles which block an entire network of intersecting streets, bringing traffic in all directions to a complete standstill. Popularly referred to in local parlance as “go-slow”, traffic gridlock has become one of the sour identities of Lagos which succeeding governments in the state have been trying to do away with. In an attempt to tackle the traffic problem, the state government, in the last 16 years, has rehabilitated and reconstructed major roads such as LASU-Iba road, Lawanson-Itire road, Oregun road, Okota-Itire road, Nurudeen Olowopopo road, among others.
This is particularly instructive since it is believed that the poor state of our roads is partly responsible for the daily chaos being experienced on most roads in the state. Also, many agencies such as LASTMA, LASDRI, LAMATA, etc., were created mainly to deal with the traffic situation. The BRT initiative is also an integral part of the arrangement to ease traffic congestion in the state. Indeed, the Lagos Traffic Radio was mainly conceived as part of the Lagos State government’s plan to resolve traffic challenges in the state. The idea behind the Traffic Radio is to enable motorists and commuters have first- hand information on transportation and traffic news, traffic alerts and diversions, while they drive or before leaving their homes.
In as much as all these plans and actions of the state government essentially indicate genuine concerns to address the perennial traffic problem in the state, it is, however, important to stress that they have not been sufficient enough to entirely redress the situation. One of the reasons for this is human factor. In Lagos State, it is not uncommon to see vehicles illegally parked on either side of the road.