Roads need improvement, say local associations

After two near-fatal road accidents at two different road crossing facilities occurred on Sunday, leaving a 90-year-old and a teenager severely injured, several organizations have urged the government to review local road designs.

Speaking on his own behalf, Ku Man Tat, a member of the Transport Consultative Council, said that pedestrians crossing Avenida do Colonel Mesquita from Dom Bosco Soccer Field may easily have their view blocked by large buses in the left lane. Motorcycles are able to squeeze between vehicles, causing accidents.

Ku also thought the arrangement of local zebra crossings had not kept up with the city’s development.

The Women’s Union also commented, saying they considered the avenue to be overburdened already. They urged the government to divert traffic to other roads, noting that traffic flow is expected to increase further with the opening of the Xian Xin Hai Museum in the future.

The Macau Institution of Engineers, on the other hand, told a seminar that zebra crossings had been set too close to each other and suggested more traffic lights be added to ease the flow of traffic.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Hong Kong, the Road Safety Council is in charge of road-related issues such as road designs and the layout of traffic signals. The council’s job description includes “site investigation and improvements,” as stated on its website.

Authorities are required to survey and improve the design of roads to better protect both drivers and pedestrians. Hong Kong authorities also investigate the effect of road design on accidents whenever one occurs.

The Public Security Police has pressed charges against the two drivers involved in separate accidents on Sunday. Police told the media that they had determined  the accidents’ sequence of events using footage obtained from nearby surveillance cameras. Staff reporter