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Lagos Island is one of the oldest areas in Lagos with major retail markets, narrow residential roads and indigenous communities, architectural and cultural heritage, at the same time it is one of the major business districts with headquarters of the banking sector, offices and the Lagos and federal courts.
Although its spatial spread is rather small and people could easily walk from public transport stations to their destinations, the use of motorcycles (Okada), tricycles (Keke) and private cars is steadily increasing; lack of parking space forces private cars to block walkways along the roads. The pressure of the traffic on tiny roads poses a serious threat to the children walking to and from schools. However, it is expected that as we make the roads safer for walking, they also become safer for cycling.
This project seeks to look at simple and cost neutral measures and regulations which the local government can easily introduce to make the roads safer for school children. It falls in line with the Lagos Non-Motorised Transport Policy initiated in 2018 which aims to create an environment that supports increased accessibility by prioritising the use of walking, cycling, and public transport. The policy seeks to achieve a more equitable allocation of road space by incorporating a focus on NMT and public transport in the planning, design, managing, and budgeting stages of transport projects. The policy is expected to reduce negative impacts of the increase in use of personal motor vehicle in the state which include environmental pollution, vehicular traffic congestion and resulting health and safety challenges which are also some of the expected outcomes of the Traffic Pilot Study.
The study is carried out in partnership with the University of Lagos and working with the Lagos Island Local Government.