Abia Seals 20 Illegal Motor Parks

No fewer than 20 illegal motor parks have been sealed-off in
Aba, Umuahia and Ohafia, the Commissioner for Transport in Abia State Chief
Ukpai Agwu, has said.

Agwu told our corresponent in Umuahia  recently that the measure was taken to ensure
sanity in the three major areas in the state.

He said that the illegal parks constituted major impediment
to free-flow of traffic in the areas and explained that some petrol stations,
especially in Aba, the economic hub of the state, were also converted into
parks by their owners.

“These parks operated without government approval and were
sited indiscriminately in the three cities. No sane government could have
approved such parks,’’ he said.

Agwu said that the various transport unions in the
government approved parks were directed to evacuate the unserviceable vehicles
and containers in the parks to create space for more vehicles.

“We discovered that the unions deliberately filled the parks
with unserviceable vehicles and containers, limiting the space and causing
drivers to load and off load on the street.

“We gave them a two-week ultimatum to clear the parks and
after the evacuation, it became clear that the parks in Aba were spacious
enough to take a lot of vehicles.

“Today, vehicles drive into the parks freely, load and
discharge passengers comfortably. The practise of loading and off-loading on
the roads had stopped”.

The commissioner said that the chaotic traffic situation
often experienced at Aba Park-Milverton Junction, Bata and Brass Junctions,
Osisioma and Asannetu spare parts market, had stopped, pointing out the measure
also helped to decongest traffic on Umuwaya Road, Mission Hill and Cooperative
Areas in Umuahia, the state capital.

He explained that a committee was set up to keep
surveillance in the affected cities “to sustain the tempo and ensure that all
those mushroom parks did not return to the streets again, adding that
defaulters would pay fine, ranging from N10, 000 to N50, 000, for vehicles and
lorries, respectively.