News
Roads and road safety
View(s):Bumpy, uneven roads are a menace to motorists, commuters and pedestrians alike. They all are victims of a tug-o-war between the central government’s road development authorities and local government authorities who are in charge of main roads and sub- roads in any given area.
Story and pix by Maggona S. Siriwardana.
Saman de Silva (37), from Panadura said “motorists have to bear the inconvenience especially during rush hours.
“The road standards change with main roads carpeted while roads maintained by local government have different surfaces. Uneven road surfaces are common and particularly dangerous when traveling with infants or pregnant mothers,” he said.
Krishan from Maggona -a three wheel driver, believes both local government and central government authorities responsible for maintaining roads should work together to ensure roads are built to particular standards and ensure the safety of the public who use them.
“We have seen people falling as they get down from buses or three-wheelers, especially when the roads are not evenly built,” he said.
However though complaints of uneven road surfaces come from all areas, in Colombo city, suburbs and outstations, no action has been taken to remedy the situation.
 Main roads are maintained by the central government, who is responsible for maintaining the walkways/pavements? |  This vehicle seems to have skidded off the main road onto the walkway… luckily no pedestrians were there when it occurred |
 This untarred walkways or so-called pavemenst will turn into a mud holes during bad weather |  Basic needs or comfort of pedestrians do not seem to have been included when the roads were planned. |