Lebanonwire, February 26, 2003

The Daily Star

Nada Raad
Daily Star staff

The government has failed to make roads safe for pedestrians, with needless accidents claiming the lives of scores of Lebanese every year according to the head of the Youth Association for Social Awareness (YASA), Ziad Akl.
Akl told The Daily Star that “many reasons are leading to pedestrian road accidents as our roads are unsafe and should be provided with secure infrastructure capable of preventing accidents in the future.”
Some 165 people died last year while walking, crossing or standing on streets, some 35 percent of all road fatalities. Pedestrians also accounted for 25 percent of all related injuries, according to a statistical survey undertaken by the Scientific Research Foundation (SRF).
Akl listed a number of measures that should be implemented or improved upon to reduce pedestrian road accidents.
Pedestrian bridges, more traffic lights, road caution signs,  safety measures for construction zones, sidewalks and regular maintenance were some of the measures Akl called for.
He added that these are absent from most roads here, leading to an increase in pedestrian accidents and despite government promises to improve the situation.
Akl referred to a governmental decision issued in May 2001 to build 77 pedestrian bridges and cover some 20 existing ones, none of which has been implemented.
“The Public Works and Transport Ministry in cooperation with the Council for Development and Reconstruction stated in 2001 that it would build pedestrian bridges,” he said.
The ministry said that construction work would be financed by selling advertising space on pedestrian walkways, adding that “although we can see many billboards located on bridges, the government didn’t construct or cover any new bridges.”
Akl said that some 12 pedestrians died last year on the highway located in front of the Sports City in Ghobeiri and the road leading to Beirut International Airport.
“Facing the Sports City, there is a school and a university, therefore students have to cross the highway because the bus stops are on the other side,” Akl said.
In addition to the risks of crossing the highway, cars passing through the tunnel drive at a high speed, which aggravates the situation, he added.
According to Akl, the problem can be easily solved if the government placed stairways on each side of the tunnel. They would cost around $5,000 and would allow people to cross the highway safely. He said students have frequently raised the issue, and sometimes closed the highway to demand a bridge, but the government never seems to care about poor people.
“Many lives can be saved if the government decided to allocate $5,000 in this location, but because citizens crossing the highway are not leaders’ sons, the problem will never be solved,” he said.
Akl said that citizens are forced to cross the highways here because there are no alternatives, although the government can avoid such accidents and save the lives of some 70 people per year by allocating funds for the project.
According to the SRF, the number of people using overpasses here has increased in the last few years. In 1998 only 47 percent used them, but in 2002, 83 percent used pedestrian bridges for crossing highways.
Pedestrian accidents also occur outside schools and universities, because students stand beside buses and cars without any security measures, Akl said.
He added that in 2001, a small motorcycle, which was carrying three people, hit a man and killed him.
“A small motorcycle is not usually capable of killing a pedestrian, but with three passengers its weight exceeded 500 kilograms and became dangerous,” he said.
He added that trucks on narrow roads often climb onto the sidewalks and hit pedestrians.
Many other problems can lead to pedestrian accidents, such as a lack of social awareness and law enforcement, Akl said, but infrastructure and secure road engineering must be a priority to save lives. 

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