Motorists at Mile 3 motor park Diobu in Nkpolu Oroworukwo Community, Port Harcourt, have lamented over what they described as conversion of the motor park to daily market by traders.
The Tide reports that following the recent ban on illegal parks and street trading by Port Harcourt Local Government Council Chairman, Hon Victor Ihunwo, Bishop Okoye street traders and drivers were dislodged from their illegal commercial activities.
The ban had put high pressure on the motor park in Mile 3, Diobu, being only the available option to the street trading activities, as all commercial drivers have gone back to the main Mile 3 park.
The Tide investigation further revealed that half of the motor park have been converted to daily market leaving no much space for the commercial bus drivers to load and discharge their passengers as the law stipulates.
Speaking to The Tide last Monday, a commercial bus driver who plies Port Harcourt, Choba route, Evans Onwuegbu, said that the relevant authorities did not make preparation and provision for rehabilitation and relocation of those that would be affected before going ahead to ban and enforce it.
According to him, “you can see for yourself, what is happening in the park is just the effect of the ban without providing alternative place for the affected victims. People must survive, they must respond to the will to survive and the only option is to resort to the park, to sell their goods, thereby blocking the chances of survival for commercial drivers that are key stakeholders in the park”.
The National Union of Road Transport workers official who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity said that the union was not responsible for the allocation of market spaces to the traders in the park, saying that their primary function was aimed at organising their members in an orderly manner, collect ticket fee from their members, keep good record and custody of passengers lost items and returned by drivers.
“We do not have the responsibility to allocate space to traders or to collect revenue from the park”, he maintained, stressing that government should do something to relocate the traders to enable the motor park serve its purpose.
A victim of the ban, Mrs Agnes Uju, said she and others sought for alternative space in the motor park at a monetary value collected by the park authority because she had no choice or place to go, she noted that there were no spaces in the main Mile 3 market to accommodate them and if there were, the spaces were very expensive and beyond her financial capabilities as a petty trader.
She appealed to the government to build more low income and affordable markets, that could accommodate a good number of petty traders, as a way to reduce the rate of street trading in the State.
job to expedite action in completing one lane of the road to ease the flow of traffic while the construction lasts.
Drivers who made the call on Monday when our correspondent visited the area said that the road is becoming worst with pot holes around Eleme junction and Oyigbo, making motorist to divert their journeys to alternative routes.
A commercial bus river Ikeji Ama who plies the route lamented over the deplorable condition of the road specially the Eleme junction to Oyigbo toll gate, then to Imo River bridge, resulting to serious traffic gridlock along the axis.
He appealed to the contractor handling the job to endeavour to concentrate and complete one side out of the two sides of the road as a remediation to easing the flow of traffic while the construction continues.
In view of Wangbo Igwe a driver on the route, told our correspondent that the traffic gridlock was becoming unbearable due to the snail movement occasioned by the bad road, saying that the pot holes were affecting their tyres and slowing down their business. He noted that the usual three trips made per day in the past could only fall down to one trip only now and that their vehicles break down indiscriminately due to bad road.
He appealed that the contractor should do something as interim measure, more so, fill hard core on the pot holes to aid movement, saying that the situation was eating up his purse on maintaining his vehicle.
Meanwhile, the site Manager Taun Tayin had apologised to road users of that route, pointing out that the delay was due o regular rainfall in the area and that the job would be completed in less than no time.