Residents of Teshie unhappy with street names

Some residents of Teshie in the Ledzokuku Municipality have expressed concerns over the identification of streets in the community with "foreign names."

They chastised the Ledzokuku Municipal Assembly for failing to use local and familiar names for the streets.

Madam Asmau Merley, a resident of Teshie Dar-es-Salam, said the name: "Dar-es-Salam", which the area was known for, for many years, had been changed to the "6th lane", which the residents could not relate to.

"The street has been named 6th lane; however, there is no 1st, 2nd, and 3rd lane." We have streets that have been named already; this time, they have brought strange names; meanwhile, these streets have been named for more than 40 years and are well known."

"Now my lane has been named as 6th lane, and directing people here always becomes a problem. We appeal to them to maintain some of the old names that the people have become familiar with and give new names to those that do not have names already."

Mr. Samuel Mills, a resident of Greda Estates, said property numbers and names provided the estates had no coordination.

"A street, which is supposed to have the same name on the stretch, has about three to four different street names on the wall of the properties.

"You will find Silver street, the next property has Calendar street, and the next or opposite property also bears Stone street and Rutherfordium street."

Mr. Mills, who has lived in the Greda Estates for decades, called on the authorities to address the situation.

"I have been living in this area since 1996, and the streets have been named very well, making it very easy to direct anyone who has not been here before. I don't have any problem with changing names, but what I find unacceptable is the kind of names and the haphazard nature with which the streets have been named."

Another Resident, Madam Stella Amankwah, said though the project was a good one, names of prominent people could be identified and used to name the streets.

Mrs. Gladys Newton, Head of Physical Planning at the Ledzokuku Municipal Assembly, in responding to the concerns of the residents, said the Assembly was still in discussions with the traditional authority and stakeholders for the collation of names, adding that where names that had been given had to change, the Assembly was ready to do that in accordance with the guiding principles.

"Although the public feedback has been received in good faith, the Assembly is working strictly with the policy guidelines, which goes through a lot of processes. Residents can also suggest names to the Assembly once it falls within the guidelines for complete coverage."

She said the Municipality's street naming and house numbering exercise was 90 per cent complete despite the numerous challenges.

She said the project was aimed at ensuring harmonisation, consistency, efficiency, and standardisation of street addressing systems in the various Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies, as well as increasing revenues and improving urban management.

"The objective of the project is also to ensure swift response to emergency situations, proper demarcation of roads as well as easy identification of property and locations, and so far, 1,980 streets have been named with over 18,400 parcels of plots numbered within the Municipality."

Mrs. Newton added that most of the street names had been placed on Google map, making it easy to navigate and locate places and houses.
She said the exercise was progressive and would need all hands on deck.