Councils urged to remove traders near busy roads

THE Zambian Roads & Highway Safety Group (ZRHSG) is urging the local councils to take control of road safety issues within their districts by removing traders who are trading on road reserves near busy highways.

The local councils should take control of road reserves, trading spaces, markets, and bus stations and ensure there is a smooth flow of traffic around these places within their districts.

The Highway Safety Group has noted that spaces that were once reserved for moving vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians have for many years been taken over by taxis and traders many of whom are now trading side by side fast-moving vehicles.

The Highway Safety Group expects that for traffic to flow smoothly and for both driver and trader to be safe, roads and highways must be cleared of obstacles created by traders and parked taxis and buses.

“Most sidewalks in Lusaka busy areas are now filled with trading tables and stands and the road islands in many places have become parking spaces for buses and taxis. This is a recipe for disaster and in the past runaway vehicles have killed traders in the Buseko on Lumumba Road and SOS and 10 miles areas of the Great North Road”, says Group Admin Mthoniswa Banda.

The Highway Safety Group notes that more Zambians will continue to be killed or maimed and properties destroyed if traders are allowed to continue competing with highway traffic and vehicles using roads passing near trading areas.

The Highway Safety Group looks forward to local councils taking advantage of the removal of political cadres from bus stations and markets to bring sanity on the roads and sidewalks leading to and from these council-controlled markets and bus stations.