Ghana's road medians; are they ornamental establishments or deliberate sand heaps?

Globally, medians are important elements of road designs and architecture and Ghana is certainly not an exception.

However, the sad reality is the parody of purpose the Ghanaian medians are seemingly left to serve.

Obviously, the preponderance of roads in Ghana's major cities and important towns are inundated with median strips usually made of grass establishments leaving a few with concrete pavements.

Regrettably, with time the beautiful scenery from median strips dressed with lawns and decorated flowers turn miserable displays.

Unfortunately, the sad reality is what beams at us, as commuters and road users.

Road medians have turned sand heaps of weeds over time and institutions of state look on unconcerned.

Whereas medians are primarily built to function as decorated green areas to beautify roadways to reduce monotony whiles driving, same cannot be said about Ghana.

Ghana's road medians have turned to deliberate sand heaps with overgrown weeds enough to host grasscutters. But for the intermittent interventions of unknown good samaritans who set fire to clear bushy weeds and plants which freely grow on medians, several of them in the capital would have developed into forest conservation areas.

Grass establishments and lawns that ordinarily require regular care and attention by way of mowing and pruning are left unkempt and bushy to form the lilliput of mountains.

This abhorrence feeds into an inoperative blanket culture of maintenance in Ghana where the state invests so much in public infrastructure but is mostly left to deteriorate without caring for them.

In the instance of road medians, the state has Department of Parks and Gardens established in 1961 by the enactment of the Local Government Act 54 with the exclusive mandate to improve rapid development of the horticultural potential of our urban and rural sectors of the country.

We have the Department of Urban Roads in whose roads the lawns and ornamental plants have been established.

One can talk of the Local Assemblies which administer political and administrative authority in various jurisdictions.

There is Motor Traffic and Transport Directorate and National Road Safety Commission which are collectively responsible for road safety. That notwithstanding, it appears there is a lack of inter-ministerial and agency collaboration which requires emergency remedy.

Public agencies with the mandate to care for and maintain road medians in Ghana who have consistently shuffled off their responsibility must sit up.