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Study of Vehicular Traffic Congestion in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis
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... The study is also based on the fact that most studies on urban transport in the world are usually centered on topics such as urban transport and travel behaviour (Dissanayake & Morikawa, 2008); pollution (Atash, 2007); regulation and management (Sohail et al., 2004); motorization policies (Willoughby, 2001) and congestion (Daganzo & Cassidy, 2008) with little attention on the effects of congestion on cities' growth and performance, especially in developing countries. For instance, in Ghana, there had been studies on themes such as problems and solutions to urban transport (Addo, 2002;Oppong, 2000), bus rapid transit system (Agyemang, 2009), vehicular traffic congestion ( Mahama et al, 2013), transport and land use (Yankson and Grant, 2002: Asiedu and Agyemang: cited in Okoye, 2010) and road safety (Agyemang, 2009) with most of them conducted in Accra the capital of the country. ...
... The end was to provide optimum transport services on the roads in the two cities (Tema and Takoradi) particularly in Takoradi, to deal with the increasing volumes of traffic in the city. The study also sought to build on and fill the gap left in the study conducted by Mahama et al (2013) on vehicular traffic count in Takoradi. That is, based on the evidence of traffic volumes in the city this paper goes further to identify its effects and measures to mitigate challenges faced by residents in the city. ...
... Evidence of increase in the number of vehicles, stated in the report, Statistical Indicators of Public Transport Performance in Africa by the African Association of Public Transport (UATP, 2010) showed that there are approximately 194.81 cars per every km square of urbanized centre in Africa. Increase in vehicle population and other factors such as inadequate transportation system, rising unplanned retail activities, economic mismanagement and others according to Mahama (2013), hamper economic activities and create hindrances for development in most parts of Africa. ...
Research has confirmed how transportation obviously helps to achieve economic growth,
especially within cities all over the world (Hartegen & Fields, 2006). Due to improper
planning and forecasting of cities’ growth, however, traffic congestion has become the
bane of socio-economic growth. This study sought to examine the socio-economic effects of traffic congestion in Takoradi, Ghana and among other things reviewed the geographical variations among five arterial roads in the city. Using questionnaire design, a semistructured interview guide, as well as a camera to gather data and the Ullman Theory of Spatial Interaction to direct the theoretical basis of the study, the following key findings
were made: The Kwame Nkrumah Circle-Market Circle corridor had the highest mean of
3.52 of perception of traffic severity out of the total of 13.8 recorded on all the five roads
appraised in the study. The road with the least perception of congestion severity was
however the Paa Grant Circle-Takoradi Polytechnic stretch with an average of 2.08.
Furthermore, a significant relationship was found to exist among delays, increase in prices of goods and services, accidents, pollution and traffic congestion on corridors 5, 4, 1 and 2 respectively. To remedy the situation this study recommends measures such as the rehabilitation of the railway lines, the decongestion of the CBD, the regulation of
infrastructure development, the expansion of the roads, as well as the regulation of the
activities of ‘trotro’ and taxi drivers in the Metropolis. The recommended measures will
not only help to mitigate the congestion but also ensure the smooth operation of socioeconomic activities in the city of Takoradi.
... Tra c congestion is the impediment imposed by vehicles on one another, where the volume equals or more than capacity. It describes situations in which the tra c volume or modal split creates a demand for space that overwhelms the existing road capacity (Mahama, 2012). Tra c congestion is usually a result of rapid motorization growth without corresponding improvement in road networks, infrastructure and tra c management techniques (Ogunbodede, 2007). ...
Against the background of the ineffable hardship on residents and commuters, this paper examines the intensity, pattern and characteristics of traffic in the selected road corridors in Abeokuta metropolis, Nigeria. Data on road types and land use types was obtained through a structured observation using a predesigned checklist. Traffic census was conducted to obtain traffic characteristics, using the morning and evening peaks as a parameter. The traffic volume and traffic capacity were measured in "vehicle per hour" (vph) and Passengers Car Unit per hour (PCU/hr). The differences in traffic volume at different peak hours were analyzed with the chi-square test, while Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was deployed to analyse the variations in traffic composition among the studied road corridors. The study finds that Sapo-Ijaye-Iyana Mortuary (2315 vph) recorded the highest daily peak traffic volume, cars (4444 vph.) had the highest numbers traffic composition, while buses (4872 PCU/hr) are the most impactful class of vehicles. The Chi-square test shows that with x = 0.822604; p = 0.84405 there are no significant differences in the vph between morning and evening peaks, while the ANOVA shows that with f = 3.3106 and p = 1.0000, the traffic composition did not vary significantly across the studied roads. The study recommends the enhancement of road capacities through upgrading to meet the current and future transportation requirements. The study also suggests alternative traffic routes such as rail lines to support the movement of heavy-duty trucks.
... On an everyday level, qualitative accounts draw on concerns about the city's increased cost of living, real estate market, road deterioration, traffic, crime and environmental problems (Ablo, 2018;Mahama, 2012;Obeng-Odoom, 2014 Figure 3.9, "Property Located Inside Oil Village" ...
In 2007, Ghana located commercial quantities of oil and gas off its Western coast, near the city of Sekondi-Takoradi. This discovery galvanised different groups wishing to benefit from these natural resources. With a view on Sekondi-Takoradi, this thesis examines how urban governance is exercised in relation to planning and development outcomes where there are multiple actors each with their own motivations, interests and agendas. In the wake of the oil discoveries, this thesis shows how the state, civil society and transnational corporate actors contest, negotiate and converge to shape future possibilities in the city in a transcalar manner across local, national and international scales of power. This research builds on network approaches to urban governance, particularly urban regime theory. Rather than view power as concentrated and held by a dominant force, urban regime theory asserts that multiple actors leverage different resources and skills to forge crosssector governing arrangements which can both enable and disable development. This thesis makes the following contributions: First, it argues for including and localising the role of transnational corporations in urban regimes in an African context. Despite the financial power of corporations (e.g. transnational oil companies), corporations rely on local socialpolitical networks and city resources for their business activities. Second, this thesis brings forward a postcolonial intervention to urban regime theory, by focusing on the agency of the local state and civil society actors to shape urban development outcomes. Far from a weak state, it shows how the local state in Sekondi-Takoradi (i.e. city government and traditional authorities) builds governing capacity by convening local and transnational actors through planning processes and development management. Third, this thesis shows how civil society organisations in Sekondi-Takoradi expand local state capacity by participating in legislative and planning processes to co-produce inclusive development outcomes, while also challenging state and corporate authority. This thesis thus argues that these distinctive actors—the local state, civil society, and transnational corporations—are mutually constitutive of one another through the transcalar governance of urban development.
... A crucial effect of oil discoveries is the associated upsurge in transport-related problems. It is an undeniable fact that the forces that draw inhabitants to congregate in large urban areas also lead to intolerable levels of traffic congestion on urban streets (Mahama, et al., 2013). The transport sector in Sekondi-Takoradi has, therefore, not been spared the impact of oil. ...
The discovery of oil off the coast of the Western Region has significantly altered the spatial and socioeconomic profile of Sekondi-Takoradi, the most industrialised urban settlement closest to the oil fields. Existing research on the impacts of oil is typically framed around the resource curse doctrine, which draws a determinist link between reliance on oil and socioeconomic conditions, but primary data collected in Sekondi-Takoradi show a more nuanced reality. The urban landscape in the city has undergone rapid changes, including the influx of migrants. This situation coupled with the presence of international oil companies is driving spin-off investments in the city's real estate market and major commercial developments such as malls and five-star hotels. Oil is, therefore, driving the economic growth of the city in sync with the Takoradi Port that is also expanding strategically to accommodate demands of the oil industry. These changes present fresh challenges to the city authorities, however, and are likely to overwhelm current capacity.
... Screenline counts were undertaken at 28 stations in Sekondi-Takoradi. [8] determined the peak hour periods for both AM (06:00-09:00) and PM (04:00-07:00) for the Metropolis. The traffic data obtained from the screenline counts were analysed to determine the total 3 hour AM peak period and 3 hour PM peak hour period. ...
... Mesto je postalo slavno predvsem zaradi vloge prometa v mestnem gospodarstvu. Cestni promet je danes glavna oblika prometa v mestu (Mahama, 2012), vendar sprva ni bilo tako. Na Zlati obali je bila najprej zgrajena cestna povezava med mestoma Saltpond in Oda, ki je bila dokončana leta 1895. ...
V članku se z institucionalno-analitično metodo ekonomske zgodovine preučujejo izvor, rast in razvoj novega zahodnoafriškega naftnega mesta Sekondi-Takoradi. Posebna pozornost je namenjena vlogi pristanišč in železnic, njihovemu razvoju in sodelovanju s politično-ekonomskimi ustanovami v preteklih stotih letih. Ta pregledna zgodovinska analiza nakazuje, da je novo zahodnoafriško mesto spet tam, kjer je bilo na začetku. Podobno kot v 20. letih 20. stoletja v državnih in mednarodnih krogih danes ponovno vzbuja nacionalno, regionalno in mednarodno pozornost. Vse kaže, da je treba znova ovrednotiti sodobne zgodbe, ki trdijo, da sta razmah virov in družbeni propad v determinističnem odnosu.
The origins, growth and trajectory of Sekondi-Takoradi, West Africa's newest oil city, are considered by using an "institutional-analytical" method of economic history. Particular attention is given to the role of ports, harbours and railways, and how they evolved and interacted with political economic institutions in the last 100 years. This omnibus historical analysis suggests that West Africa's newest oil city has come full circle. Its contemporary stature in national and international circles has a historical parallel in the 1920s when, as now, it captured national, regional and international attention. The evidence suggests that contemporary narratives that strike a determinist relationship between resource boom and social doom need to be reconsidered.
This article illustrates how episodes in local and international political economy shape urban transport in Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana’s oil city, and how resultant dynamics in the global economy make the attainment of sustainable urban development illusory. Investment in road production and maintenance is overwhelmed by the recent rapid increase in the number and use of automobiles in the city. At the same time, official disinterest persists in planning for alternative sustainable forms of transportation. While another scenario is possible, by showing the structural and administrative orientation toward productivist sustainable development ideals and its ecologically destructive consequences, I argue that it is increasingly likely that the Sekondi-Takoradi of the future will come to exhibit the contradictions in the capitalist drive to “annihilate space through time.”
This third edition of the late R.J. Salter's successful book has been revised and updated by N.B. Hounsell. Part I covers transportation planning, incorporating new methodological approaches and models. Part II covers highway traffic analysis and design, including updated sections on link and junction design, together with new computer aided design packages. Part III concentrates in traffic signals, with new chapters on microprocessor-based signal control and modern urban traffic control systems. This new edition consolidates the book's position as a practical text of traffic theory and practice, including many worked examples, for undergraduate and postgraduate students of transport and traffic engineering.
Performance indicators are quantitative measures that enable managers and policymakers to monitor the current position of an agency and outline strategies to improve performance. Because public services have many different dimensions of performance, a large number of performance indicators are normally used. A conceptual model is used to help select a few that represent all the important performance concepts. Data are obtained from a national sample of 311 urban bus transit systems in the first year that data were reported under Section 15 of the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1965, as amended. Factor analysis is used to select the indicators that best represent all dimensions of performance. This small, representative set of performance indicators is used to analyze performance and to establish peer-group rankings.
A macroscopic Traffic Simulation and Optimization (TSAO) model has been developed for regional highway networks. It was applied to the Maryland Eastern Shore network, where heavy recreational traffic creates severe congestion and long queues at bottlenecks on summer weekends. Fourteen alternatives for improvement, including capacity expansion projects and route diversion, were analyzed. Results show the cost-effectiveness of route diversion as a substitute for new construction on intercity networks where high demand peaks are infrequent. The applicability of the TSAO model to large networks with complex demand patterns and insufficient capacity is also demonstrated.
Staggered by an unprecedented series of hurricanes, floods, and fires, insurers are weighing the possibility that these catastrophes are the first real effects of human-induced climate change - and that the worst is yet to come. Their response could pit them squarely against the giant fossil fuel industry in the battle over reducing carbon emissions.
