GHANA Case study: Cape Coast

• Cape Coast, a secondary city of only 170,000 population (2012), but regional capital

• Major trade/transit centre [fishing + agricultural produce]

• Leading national education centre + UNESCO site

• Many local transport issues have country-wide resonances

Key issues/concerns about transport and accessibility in Cape Coast

• Traffic flow impeded by: • Congested core of pre-1900 buildings affects market access etc. • Accra-Takoradi trunk road at north edge

• Grid-locked core and residential areas in peak traffic hours• Traffic diverts to narrow, unpaved suburban roads • Hawkers take advantage of traffic go-slow• Hazards increase in wet season downpours

• Pedestrian safety [n.b. walking is principal means of transport for the majority poor]

• No street lighting at night – safety/security issues• Freight movements include domestic water + fuel: many small loads

carried on foot [head-loaded], or on handcarts • Impedes traffic flow• Health + education implications

• Conflicts between non-motorised [trucks] and motorised transport [+ now okada]

• Governance issues

Who are the most vulnerable populations?

• Children and young people; road-side traders/hawkers; older people; people with disabilities

Vulnerable children and young people

• A majority lack funds to travel by motor transport

• Walk to school occurs at peak traffic hours – dangers for pedestrian travel

• Small physical stature + limited traffic experience – especially dangerous for young hawkers

• Many poorly unsurfaced, narrow roads – dust, poor visibility

• Many drivers poorly trained, ignore traffic regulations

• Inadequate traffic controls

• Many required to carry loads [porterage] for family members

• Public transport mainly badly maintained, sub-standard vehicles

• Girls harassed on public transport/taxis

• Inadequate road safety training

• Lack of voice

Vulnerable older people

• Age-related physical/cognitive changes

+ Many issues mirroring those for children/youth

• Walking dominates - Lack of resources to take motor transport

• Many poorly unsurfaced, narrow roads – dust, poor visibility endangers travel

• Many drivers poorly trained, ignore traffic regulations

• Inadequate traffic controls

• Harassment/cheating by transport operators

• Lack of voice

Vulnerable pedestrian load carriers

Vulnerable roadside traders/hawkers

[some with no schooling, no road safety training]

Where are the vulnerable populations located?

• Many locations, notably:

• Urban high density, low income Abura

[our survey: only 23% households have piped water; 82% depend on wood or charcoal for cooking]

• Peri-urban lower density, low income Simiw

[our survey: under 1% households have piped water; 100% depend on wood or charcoal for cooking]

Existing research evidence: Cape Coast

• Abane, A.M. (2010) ‘Travel behaviour in Ghana: Empirical observations from four metropolitan areas’, Journal of Transport Geographydoi:10.10106/j.trangeo.2010.03.002

• Agyei-Mensah, A. and E. Ardayfio-Schandorf (2007) ‘The global and the local: urban change in Cape Coast from pre-colonial times to the present’, Urban Design International 12: 101-114

• www.dur.ac.uk/child.mobility/

• Porter, Abane et al. 2010 Moving young lives: mobility, immobility and inter-generational tensions in urban Africa. Geoforum 41, 796-804.

• Porter, G. Urban transport in Cape Coast, Ghana: UNHabitat background paper for Global Report on Human Settlements 2013 Available fromhttp://unhabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/GRHS.2013.Case_.Study_.Cape_.Coast_.Ghana_.pdf

Key academics/research institutes

• University of Cape Coast

• University of Ghana, Legon

• KNUST Kumasi