A number of signposts in Accra are losing their purpose as they have been defaced with all manner of posters.
Road signs are meant to warn, inform and regulate the flow of vehicular and human traffic, including motorcycles, vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians and other road users.
A Daily Graphic survey of about 20 streets in Accra pointed to the covering of more than 100 signposts in a city struggling with road accidents.
In 2018, the Accra region recorded 4,139 accident cases.
The situation where advertisers; both registered and unregistered, are placing posters and banners on signposts everywhere is rendering them useless.
There are also cases where billboards have been positioned to block some signposts.
Some of the affected roads in Accra are the Independence Avenue, the Kanda Highway, Kojo Thompson Road, Dr Busia Highway, John Evans Atta Mills High Street, N1 Highway and the Graphic Road.
The posters, which range from very small stickers to those as large as A2 sheets, include political campaign posters, events publicity posters, those announcing vacancies, selling products and posters showing direction.
Urban Roads Department
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Head of Engineering at the Road Safety Unit at the Department of Urban Roads, Ms Patricia Onny, she said the implication was enormous and could be deadly to all road users.
“For instance, if there is a speed hump and the sign is covered, the person driving may run into it and that could result in injury, death or damage to those in the vehicle as well as the vehicle itself.
Again, if there is a zebra crossing and the sign is covered, the driver would not know and would just zoom in and the outcome is clear,” she said.
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