The Liberia National Police (LNP) announced that they will begin restricting motorcyclists and tricycle riders from using the main streets of Monrovia and its environs beginning May 15, 2024. The announcement followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on April 23, 2024 between the LNP and Federation of Motorcycle and Tricycle Union of Liberia.
According To The Police, the measure is intended to minimize the high rate of accidents, crimes and deaths. “We’ve tried to get rid of the name No-go- Zone, we try to call it now the restricted areas. So we’ve jointly agreed to make the road from Freeport to Central Monrovia and all parts of Town restricted areas for motorcyclists. We also jointly agreed to consider from the ELWA Junction throughout the Tubman Boulevard and the rest of Monrovia restricted areas for motorcyclists.”
As Part Of the public safety measure, tricycles (Keh-Keh) will be privileged to drive from Freeport to Monrovia using the Waterside corridor but will be barred from using Broad and Carey Streets. The MoU indicated that those coming from the Jallah Town corridor will go through the Capital By-pass toward Benson Street or use the Buzzy Quarter corridor, passing through UN Drive to Town.
Additionally, The LNP and Leadership of the Motorcycle Union agreed that motorcyclists commuting from the Roberts International Airport Highway will be allowed to pass through the ELWA Junction, divert to the Duport Road – Red-light and onward to the Somalia Drive.
We Support The decision by the LNP and Federation of Motorcycle and Tricycle Union of Liberia to restrict the movement of Motorcyclists and tricycle riders. The restriction is in the right direction and good for public safety. From time to time, motorcyclists are always in violation of public safety regulations and being used as conduits for the commission of crimes.
Moreover, They Make the most accidents, which result to serious injuries and deaths due to reckless driving. We are glad that the Police are ready to restore public safety for the betterment of the country and those who ply the streets.
However, We Hope this time, the enforcement of public safety regulations will be sustained unlike previous years when the LNP was lackadaisical when it came to sustaining such operation. We believe that if the Police and the leadership of the Motorcycle Union work together to ensure the full implementation of the MoU, accidents, crimes and deaths will be reduce in our streets.
We Trust That the Police will not take lightly the enforcement of this aspect of public safety because to a larger extent, huge traffic congestion will decrease. A sustained enforcement of public safety regulations and relevant traffic laws cannot be overemphasized as the restriction of motorcyclists remains the best step for public safety.
It Is Our expectation that the ‘No-Go-Zone’ restriction will be done professionally to avoid confusion between police officers and motorcyclists.
