AssessmentofRoadTransportFacilitiesonIlorinMetropolisNigeria. Assessment of Road Transport Facilities on Ilorin Metropolis, Nigeria

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1 Global Journal of HUMANSOCIAL SCIENCE: B Geography, GeoSciences, Environmental Science & Disaster Management Volume 18 Issue 4 Version 1.0 Type: Double Blind Peer Reviewed International Research Journal Publisher: Global Journals Online ISSN: x & Print ISSN: X Assessment of Road Transport Facilities on Ilorin Metropolis, Nigeria By Muili, A.B., Wojuade C. A. & Ibrahim R.B Ladoke Akintola University of Technology AbstractTransportation problem is one of the burning issues globally, which has caught the attentions of many scholars. This study assesses road transport facilities in Ilorin metropolis. It covers the identification of urban road transport facilities; volume of traffic flow and the constraints that affect the urban road transport services and as well formulate appropriate strategies for improvement. The study uses primary data obtained through systematic and accidental sampling of 191 residents across major traffic corridors. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency count and percentages. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was also used to examine variations in the availability and conditions of road transport facilities. Results indicated that unavailability of adequate road facilities in the area occasioned traffic congestions and road accidents among others in the major traffic corridors of the area. Findings also shows that there is heavy traffic in the area at 7:00am8:00am and 6:00pm7:00pm in the selected traffic corridors daily. Findings from ANOVA revealed that there is significant variations in the availability and conditions of road transport facilities across the traffic corridors at p<0.05 confidence level. Therefore, this study recommends improvement in the provision and maintenance of road facilities, proper traffic education, effective good road network and enforcement of rules and regulation. Keywords: road transport, traffic volume, congestion, road accidents and measures. GJHSSB Classification: FOR Code: AssessmentofRoadTransportFacilitiesonIlorinMetropolisNigeria Strictly as per the compliance and regulations of: Muili, A.B., Wojuade C. A. & Ibrahim R.B. This is a research/review paper, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons AttributionNoncommercial 3.0 Unported License permitting all noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

2 Assessment of Road Transport Facilities on Ilorin Metropolis, Nigeria Muili, A.B. α, Wojuade C. A. σ & Ibrahim R.B. ρ Abstract Transportation problem is one of the burning issues globally, which has caught the attentions of many scholars. This study assesses road transport facilities in Ilorin metropolis. It covers the identification of urban road transport facilities; volume of traffic flow and the constraints that affect the urban road transport services and as well formulate appropriate strategies for improvement. The study uses primary data obtained through systematic and accidental sampling of 191 residents across major traffic corridors. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency count and percentages. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was also used to examine variations in the availability and conditions of road transport facilities. Results indicated that unavailability of adequate road facilities in the area occasioned traffic congestions and road accidents among others in the major traffic corridors of the area. Findings also shows that there is heavy traffic in the area at 7:00am8:00am and 6:00pm7:00pm in the selected traffic corridors daily. Findings from ANOVA revealed that there is significant variations in the availability and conditions of road transport facilities across the traffic corridors at p<0.05 confidence level. Therefore, this study recommends improvement in the provision and maintenance of road facilities, proper traffic education, effective good road network and enforcement of rules and regulation. Keywords: road transport, traffic volume, congestion, road accidents and measures. I. Introduction The recent trend of urbanization in the developing world indicates that more people now live in cities than before. This has made the demand for transport in cities an inevitable task because of the need to shop for food and other necessities. The spatially distributed activities such as housing, work, school, business, and recreation etc. taking place in them are generators and attractors of traffic that has implications on mobility (Ogunbodede, 2008 and Ogunleye, 2006). The transport sector is therefore the basic service sector to the other sectors of a nation s economy; hence, it is usually referred to as the actor and connector sector (Akinbamiet al., 1997). Authorα: Department of Urban and Regional Planning. Author σ: Department of Transport Management Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria. abmuili@lautech.edu.ng Author ρ: Department of Urban and Regional Planning Osun State University Osogbo, Nigeria. rafiu.ibrahim@uniosun.edu.ng Transportation exhibits a very close relationship with the style of life, the range and location of the productive and leisure activities, and the goods and services, which are available for consumption (Edwards, 1999; Schiller et al., 2010). Its efficiency contributes largely to the level of productivity, economic growth and thus quality of life. The problem inherent in any urban transport system stems from the inadequacies experienced by commuters and the economy. The management of road transportation system in some cities of the world is poor (Filani and Osayinwese, 1974; Hutchinson, 2002 and Ohakwe and Ezirim 2006). The road transport facilities in these cities are characterized by inadequacy in the number provided, and capacity required and their state of maintenance which lead to problems such as traffic congestion, wearoff of road surface and traffic accidents (Wright, 1994; Ogunbodede, 2008; Ogwude, 2011; Basorun & Rotowa, 2012). The significance of transport to the development of a country lies in the fundamental fact that mobility and accessibility are essential for economic growth. For instance, transport allows accessibility to agricultural land, health, education, employment, commerce, industries and various activities in a community. Accessibility is an important factor in a road transport system, as it is a measure of the adequacy of the system. A welldeveloped and distributed road network will offer high levels of accessibility while less developed one will have lower level of accessibility. The capacity and the structure of transport infrastructure are the key elements in the determination of accessibility. The road transport is the predominant mode of transport in most of the developing countries because it moves a substantial percentage of people, goods and services. Road networks are so key and important because they provide access to socioeconomic activities of the economy and facilitate social interaction and support the economy (Arosayin, 1998, Peter et al, 2005, Ogunleye, 2010). Hence, road infrastructure plays a critical role in the entire transportation chain (Sunday, 2011). It connects other modes of transport and permeates all aspects of modern economic activities in the economy. Road transport infrastructure has enormous influence on economic growth and social cohesion. The foregoing suggests the importance of road transport facilities in a city. When they are adequate the 1(B

3 people and economy benefits but when inadequate they suffer. The study area Ilorin capital of Kwara state was chosen due to its rapid increase in population and spatial size in recent years which has resulted to improved economic condition. This has consequently led to increase in demand for transport facilities. The study therefore sets out to investigate how the available road infrastructures have been able to cope with the growth in traffic and its attendant effect on the economy. II. Study Area This study was carried out in Ilorin metropolis, the capital of Kwara State, Nigeria. Ilorin is located on latitude North of the Equator and longitude East of the Greenwich Meridian. In regional setting, the city is about 306km from Lagos, 600km from Kaduna and about 500km from Abuja the federal capital territory. Ilorin has a total population of 777,667 (NPC, 2007)making it the sixth largest city in the country. The city has aland area of square mile. The roads in Ilorin are classified into truck A, B and C whose ownership falls into federal, state and local governments respectively. The federal roads connect the city with others parts of the country. They are mostly tarred and have twolanes. Trunk B roads are distributor roads to trunk A. Most of the roads are tarred but are characterized by potholes and poor drainage system. The trunk C roads are local access roads that traverse the whole city. Generally, the roads are characterized by lack of good drainage system, pedestrian walkways, streetlights, road signs, traffic light and potholes. 2(B ) Volume XVIII Issue IV Version I MAP OF NIGERIA SHOWING KWARA STATE AND ILORIN. SOKOTO KASTINA JIGAWA YOBE KEBBI ZAMFARA KANO BORNO KADUNA GOMBE NIGER ADAMAWA # PLATEAU F.C.T KWARA NASSARAWA OYO KOGI EKITI OSUN BENUE TARABA OGUN LAGOS EDO ENUGU ANAMBRA DELTA ABIA BAYELSA RIVERS AKWAIBOM CROSSRIVER SCALE : Kilometers III. Materials and Methods The study requires three types of data: volumetric analysis of traffic counts to ascertain the number of vehicles plying the roads, assessment of the availability and conditions of the road facilities and perception of residents to the road facilities. The study covers two (2) traffic corridors which fall within Ilorin south, local government area. The traffic corridors selected for the study were General Hospital Ibrahim Taiwo Road; and Abdul Wahab Folawiyo (Unity) Road. The selected roads were important corridors leading to social, economic, health and administrative functions within the city. The traffic count was taken in the morning, afternoon and evening periods to know the volume of traffic on each of the selected traffic corridors W N S E International boundary State boundary River Ilorin kwara state Figure 1: Kwara State and Ilorin in Nigeria. # L E G E N D SOURCE :MINISTRYOF LAND, HOUSING ANDPHYSICAL PLANNINGIBADAN, OYOSTATE in the metropolis. The field assistants were stationed on each of the selected roads and they observed and record the volume of traffic plying the roads. Furthermore, the availability and conditions of road facilities such as streetlight, pedestrian walkway, parking space, traffic lights, road signs and drainage system on the selected roads were assessed. There was also the administration of questionnaire to the residents living along the selected roads to obtain their perception of the road facilities. The total numbers of buildings along the selected roads were 911. This comprises 653 buildings along General Hospital Ibrahim Taiworoad, 258 buildings along Wahab Folawiyo (Unity) road. The sample size of 20.9% percent of total buildings that is 191 buildings was systematically selected for sampling. A household head in each of the

4 selected buildings were sampled. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency table. Inferential statistics used was Analysis of Variance, and it was used to examine variations in the availability and conditions of road transport facilities across the traffic corridors. Line graph was also used to assess volumetric analysis. IV. Results and Discussion a) Volumetric analysis of Traffic flow along selected roads Table 1: Traffic count on General hospital Ibrahim Taiwo corridor Time Motorcycle Tricycle Private Car Taxi Cab Truck Bus 78am am am am am12pm pm pm pm pm pm pm pm Total Table1 reveals the average traffic count in General hospital Ibrahim Taiwo road of the study area, which shows the rate at which vehicles are plying the traffic corridor in a week. Accordingly, six (6) types of vehicle were identified and counted. Motor car (42,551) was observed to be the highest types of vehicle plying the road. This is followed in decreasing order by taxi cab (36,886), motorcycle (17.439), bus (1,933) truck (867) and tricycle (162) respectively. In all a total of 99,838 vehicles were observed to be plying the traffic corridor averagely in a day. It could be noted that there is increase in the flow of vehicle in the area by 7:00am 8:00am through 8:00am 9:00am, and as well 9:00am 10:00am.These periods happens to be the time when people are going to their working places. It could be noted however, that Table 2: Traffic count AbdulWahab Folawiyo (Unity) Road Total vehicle = 99,838 Source: Authors Fieldwork, 2017 the traffic volumes later fall at 11:00am 12:00pm. This might not be unconnected with the fact that people would have been at their working places which may result to reduction in the level of movement of vehicles in the area. The peak hour in the traffic corridor happens to be within 8:00am 9:00am and 200pm 5:00pm and this could be the time when residents would be going up and down for their business and there would be high flow of vehicles in the area. Also, at 6:00pm 7:00pm in the night there is high rate of flowing of vehicles in the corridor and this may be as a result that majority of people would have return to their residing places. Later in the night, by 6:00pm 7:00pm, there is higher flow of vehicles. Traffic congestion is what respondents mentioned as the order of the day during these peak hours. Time Motorcycle Tricycle Private Car Taxi Cab Truck Bus 78am am am am am12pm pm pm pm pm pm pm pm Total Total vehicle = 94,961 Source: Authors Fieldwork, (B

5 4(B ) Volume XVIII Issue IV Version I As shown in table2, motorcycle (37,578) was observed to be the major vehicle plying the Abdul Wahab Folawiyo (unity) Road. This is in sharp contrast to what obtains in table1 where private car dominates. Further, private car (36,452) also observed to have close to motorcycle in number. Other vehicles counted are taxi cab (17,675), tricycle (1,266), bus (1,084) and truck (906) respectively. As a matter of fact, the hourly traffic volume in AbdulWahab Folawiyo (unity) Road also exhibited similar phenomenon with that of General hospital Ibrahim Taiwo road. It could be noted that there is increase in the flow of vehicles in the area at 7:00am 8:00am through 8:00am 9:00am this happens to be the time when everyone in the area would be leaving their residence for their working places which bring about increase in traffic volume in the area. It is quite interesting to note that the traffic volume reduces within 9:00am 10:00am as some of the residents would have been settled at their place of works. It later rises at 10:00am 11:00am, this happens to be the time when people will be going to their working places as the road is one of the major road that link almost every part of the area together. Thus, the peak hour is within 2:00pm 3:00pm and this is because the traffic corridor serves a lot of area together such New Yidi road, Ibrahim Taiwo road, Challenge, Gaa Akanbi among others where many activities are taking place in the area. Thus, at 5:00pm 6:00pm there is low volume of traffic in the area and this might be as a result of the fact that people are getting ready to leave their working places for their place of residence. b) Availability and Conditions of road transport facilities in Ilorin metropolis Findings on the availability and conditions of road infrastructure facilities as contained in table3 reveals that most of the important road facilities are not available as indicated by the highest proportion of respondents. As a matter of fact, very minute respondents along Ibrahim Taiwo Road reiterated Road General hospital Taiwo Road Abdul Wahab Folawiyo Road Assessment of Road Transport Facilities on Ilorin Metropolis, Nigeria availability of road facilities. For instance, 26.3%, 9.8%, 11.32%, 5.91%, 38.62% and 42.33% of respondents are of the opinion that there is availability of street light, parking space, pedestrian walkway, traffic light, traffic sign and drainage respectively. On the contrary, 73.7%, 90.2%, 88.68%, 94.09%, 61.38% and 57.67% of respondents argued that road facilities of street light, parking space, pedestrian walkway, traffic light, traffic sign and drainage respectively are not available in Ibrahim Taiwo road. It was quite interesting to note that highest proportion of respondents (63.47%) indicated availability of road pavement in Ibrahim Taiwo traffic corridor. The situation of availability of road facilities in Abdul Wahab Folawiyo (Unity) Road is not too different from what obtains in Ibrahim Taiwo Road except in some few cases as shown in table3. Accordingly, 45.6%, 36.75%, 21.34%, 17.92%, 47.81%, 65.77% and 78.21%of respondents accounted for the fact that street light, parking space, pedestrian walkway, traffic light, traffic sign, drainage and road pavement are available. The respondents that are of the view that street light, parking space, pedestrian walkway, traffic light, traffic sign, drainage and road pavement are not available accounted for 54.4%, 63.25%, 78.66%, 82.08%, 52.19%, 34.23% and 78.21% respectively. It can be infer however, that drainage and road pavement are the road facilities that available mostly in Abdul Wahab Folawiyo Road as highlighted by the highest proportion of respondents. Moreover, it is also revealed in table1 that the few road facilities available are not in good conditions both at Ibrahim Taiwo Road and Abdul Wahab Folawiyo (Unity) Road of the study area. Indeed, the road facilities that were observed to be in good conditions are Drainage (44.4%) at Abdul Wahab Folawiyo (Unity) Road; and Road Pavement (81.8%) at Ibrahim Taiwo Road. It is also pertinent to note that Road pavement is observed to be in fair conditions in Abdul Wahab Folawiyo (Unity) Road. Table 3: Availability and Conditions of road transport facilities Availability (%) Condition of road facilities (%) Facilities Yes No Good Fair Poor Street light Parking space Pedestrian walkway Traffic light Traffic sign Drainage system Road pavement Street light Parking space Pedestrian walkway Traffic light Traffic sign

6 c) Intraurban Variations in Availability and Conditions of road transport facilities in Ilorin metropolis Research efforts were intensified in this subsection of study to examine the variations in the availability and conditions of road transport facilities. Drainage system Road pavement Source: Authors Fieldwork, 2017 This is with a view of establishing the statistical significance or otherwise of the road facilities variations across (between and within) the traffic corridors of the study area. Table 4: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of variations in the availability and conditions of road transport facilities Availability of Road transport facilities Condition of Road transport facilities Between Groups Within Groups Total Between Groups Within Groups Total ANOVA Table 4 reveals that with Fvalue of 2.079, and pvalue of 0.050, for availability and condition of road transport facilities, it is observed that that there is significant variations in the availability and conditions of road transport facilities across the traffic corridors at p<0.05 confidence level. This implies that the situation of availability and conditions of road facilities does not statistically remain the same in the area. d) Constraints of urban road transport services in the study area The preponderance of seriousness in the constraints of urban road transport service in the selected corridors of the study area is analyzed in this subsection as contained in the table 5using Likhert scale computation. It is reveals in Table5 that lack/poor traffic symbols have highest positive constraint index of 0.14, which indicates that lack or poor traffic signs (symbols)is noted to be the highest constraints among the road transport facilities across the study area. This implies that most of the roads lack or have poor traffic symbols Sum of df Mean Square F Sig. Squares Table 5: Constraints of Urban Road Transport Services Source: Author s computation, 2017 which can be used to caution the road users. Furthermore, Lack of pedestrian walkway have positive constraint index of 0.062, and this implies that, the absence or poor pedestrian walkway is also one of the challenges of road transport facilities in the metropolis. As a matter of fact, people prefer to ply where pedestrian walkway is available so as to prevent being hit by vehicles on the road. Also, inadequate or lack of parking facilities too have positive value of and lack or poor traffic light also have positive value of 0.04.The implication of this is that they have significant value in the road facility constraint of the respondents in the study area which means that people do ply the selected traffic corridors as a result of some facilities available and abandoned some that lack such facilities. More so, constraints such as lack, or poor street light, pot hole and lack or poor drainage have negative constraint index of 0.012, and respectively which shows that these constraints does not too important as a challenge of road facilities in the area. 5(B VARIABLES Ranking Constraint Index NR (f) AWV AWV/NR(f) X D D 2 Lack / poor traffic symbols Lack of pedestrian walkway

7 Inadequate parking facilities Lack / poor traffic light Lack / poor street light Pot hole Lack /poor drainage Total (B Note: 5 = Very Serious, 4 = Serious, 3 = Just Serious, 2 = Not Serious, 1 = Not at all serious Source: Author s computation, 2017 V. Conclusion and Policy Issues This study assessed road facilities in the metropolitan city of Ilorin, Nigeria. It was revealed that the volume of traffic at the peak hours is very high. This situation is not too palatable because of its attendant effects on the mobility of people. Traffic congestion is a phenomenon that respondents quickly pointed to as being the effect, and can be effectively managed if all preventions are taken into consideration. It was also found out that most of transport facilities are not available except road pavement and drainage system; and are significantly varied across the traffic corridors of study area. The adequate urban road transport services should be properly provided in Ilorin metropolis to reduce traffic problem such as traffic congestion. The following recommendations should be strictly adhering to, in order to provide proper and adequate urban road transport services; Planning: There is need for proper city planning and urban design practices in the area, for this will have huge impact on the level of future of urban road transport services provisions in the environment. Good Road Network: Local government should rehabilitate existing and all arterial roads (street roads) within the environment in order to relieve the burden of other roads that has traffic congestion. State Government should try and add more road networks and expand those with narrow laybyes to prevent packing and stopping at unapproved places in order to complement the existing ones. In lieu of this, effect of traffic congestion on the environment would be reduced and proper flow of vehicles will be free in the area. Enforcement of Traffic Rules and Regulation: Traffic rules and regulations should be enforced by discipline law enforcement agents such as Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Kwara State Road Maintenance Agency, (KWARMA) Ilorin etc. in the environment. Implementation of Traffic Control Measure: Traffic control measure should be put in place in order to reduce traffic congestion and promote adequate flow of vehicles to enhance good pattern of mobility of residents in the area which will automatically reduce its effect on the environment and road users. Traffic control measures such as; use of traffic warden, traffic light, parking restriction, traffic signs, traffic marks etc. References Références Referencias 1. Akinbami, J. K. F and Fadare, S. O. Strategies for Sustainable Urban Transport Development in Nigeria. Great Britain Journal of Transport Policy, Vol. 4 No.4, pp , Elsevier Sciences Ltd., Basorun, J. O. (2005). Human posed barriers to urban commute: Findings and reflections on Akure, Nigeria. International Journal of Environmental Issues, 3(1), Basorun, J. O., & Rotowa, O.O. (2012). Regional assessment of public transport operations in Nigerian cities: The case of Lagos island. International Journal of Developing Societies, 1 (2), Edwards, J. D. (1999). Transportation planning handbook. Washington D.C.: Institute of transportation planners. 5. Engwitch, D. (1992): Towards an EcoCity; Calming the Traffic. Envirobook, Publishers. National Population Commission: (2006): Population Census 6. Filani, M. O. & Osayinwese, I. Z. (1974).The organization of transport planning in Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Economic and Social Studies, 16(3), Gauther, H. L. (1993). Geography, transportation and regional development. London: Macmillan. 8. Hutchinson, B. G. (2002). Principle of urban transportation system planning. New York, NY: Scripta Book Coy. Ltd.

8 9. Meyer, M. D. & Miller, E. J. (2001).Urban transportation planning. New York, NY: McGrawHill Publishing Company. 10. Ogunbodede, E. F. (2008). Urban road transportation in Nigeria from 1960 to 2006; Problems, prospects and challenges. Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management, 1(1), Ogunleye O. & Olukayode (2004): Planning for Satellite Settlement in the Suburb of AdoEkiti: An unpublished PGD project submitted to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria 12. Ogwude, C. (2011). Managing transportation infrastructure in Nigerian cities. Paper Presented at the Nigerian Institute of Town Planner (NITP) and Town Planner Registration Council of Nigeria (TOPREC) Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Programme (MCPDP), 2011 edition, Ibadan, Nigeria. 13. Ohakwe, A. O. & Ezirim, O. N. (2006).Project planning and evaluation: The planner s perspective. Port Harcourt, Nigeria: Alpha Armour Investment Ltd. 14. Peter, B. Jo, B; Neil R; and Annette, P. (2005): Differing Perspectives of Road Users and Service Providers Transport Policy. 12(4), pp Peterson, E. D. (1980). (1980): Transportation in Cities, Pergamon Press, Inc. United State 1st edition. p Rodrigue, J. P. The Notion of Accessibility. Dept. of Global Studies & Geography, Hofstra University, New York, USA, accessed on 14th July, Schiller, P. L., Bruun, E., & Ken worthy, J. R. (2010). An introduction to sustainable transportation: Policy, planning and implementation. United Kingdom: Earth scan. 18. Wright, C. C. (1994). Conflicts, accidents, catastrophes and chaos. Century Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 87, (B

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