adminInnocent Ruwende Senior Reporter
Harare City Council should expedite the design and subsequent crafting of the Harare Metropolitan Transportation Master Plan to address congestion, which has rendered most city roads impassable, deputy mayor Enock Mupamawonde has said.
He said council should consider widening roads which lead into the city.
“As the city continues to grow, it is imperative that we begin to work towards correcting areas that are problematic,” said Clr Mupamawonde.
“One urgent issue is the widening of all the main roads leading into the city.
“This will help significantly reduce the traffic jam nightmare that has become common on most of the roads leading into the city.
“Secondly, Mbudzi Roundabout is another area of concern. The roundabout has become impassable during morning and evening rush hours.
“Therefore, I urge the Department of Works to consider coming up with a programme to address the above and other such intersections around the city.”
Clr Mupamawonde said the traffic jungle in the CBD was threatening to make roads inaccessible, with motorists sometimes taking more than an hour to leave town.
The situation, he said, was even worse during the rainy season.
He said the crafting of the master plan would make it possible for council to introduce Metro Buses.
“I implore upon Government to provide subsidies in order to make the introduction of Metro Buses a success without unsustainably burdening the commuters,” he said.
“This will enable my council to kill two birds with one stone, namely the emotive issue of self-sustaining entrepreneurs in the streets and traffic congestion in the CBD.
“The city’s roads infrastructure still requires more work to be done. The 8 000-km of roads is in need of massive rehabilitation. Vehicle owners are losing lots of their hard-earned money through damage to their vehicles as a result of bad roads.”
To this end, Clr Mupamawonde said, priority would be given to capacitating and the drawing up of performance-based contracts for the board of Harare Quarry to ensure that the Department of Roads has continuous and adequate supply of material for roads construction, rehabilitation and maintenance.
He said this would significantly reduce the cost of sourcing material.
Online Reporter