Along major highways leading into the capital city, such as Tlokweng, Boatle, Molepolole, Gabane and Morwa, the carnage has become a daily occurrence. Gaborone's Western bypass and the Mogoditshane end of the New Molepolole Road have also been in the news recently for pedestrians being mangled to death by motorists.
When the Western bypass was opened more than two decades ago, the idea was to ease traffic congestion in the inner city, especially for transiting travellers. Over the years, however, the road no longer skirted the western fringes of Gaborone as the city had grown to the other side to form a seamless contiguity with Mogoditshane. With this urban sprawl came new shopping malls, schools, clinics and places of worship, resulting in more people crossing the erstwhile Western bypass. Today, hardly a week goes by without a deadly accident involving a pedestrian there. Thus do we call on the Ministry of Transport and Communications to build overhead pedestrian bridges along this deadly road to curb the fatalities and serious injuries.
