Motorists and commuters in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, have raised worries over increased traffic congestion caused by unlawful parking, roadside trade, and indiscriminate passenger loading on major highways around the town.
The activities, particularly during nighttime peak hours, have continued to hinder the movement of traffic with motorists saying that roads extended and rebuilt by the state government are gradually losing their ability to absorb traffic.
AFRI MEDIA noticed that at Olonkoro, Ayetoro, Igbona, Odi-Olowo, Ota-Efun and Ajegunle along the Osogbo-Ikirun Road, commercial buses routinely stop on the roads to pick up passengers, while illegally parked vehicles and double parking cause other motorists to make rapid lane changes.
According to reports, the situation has turned some short journeys into long ones, with commuters taking more than an hour to cover certain main routes during peak hours.
“The situation is becoming frustrating,” said Anthony Alo, a daily commuter, even as there are upgrades in the road infrastructure across the state capital.
The situation is frustrating because the roads are no longer as constricted as they formerly were," Alo remarked.
Motorists now spend more time on the impacted routes, especially in the evenings when workers are going home, he said.
He said the motorists driving to Igbona, Ayetoro and Orisunbare have also been affected.
Alo called on the government to provide bus stops at Old Garage Junction and other critical points to prevent commercial vehicles from blocking traffic and to separate pedestrian activity from automotive activities.
The construction has also drawn concerns from traders who are affected by indiscriminate parking in their commercial areas.
Pelumi Tijani, a spare parts salesman, accused vehicles of using the façade of his business premises for parking for long.
"There will be vehicle owners from nowhere just coming with their cars and parking in front of my office from morning to evening and customers will not be able to see my goods," Tijani stated.
Another point-of-sale, POS, merchant, Ojo Dolapo, blamed indiscriminate loading of passengers by commercial transport operators as a significant cause of the repeated gridlock near Igbona and Ajegunle.
The congestion has also sparked worries about road safety, as illegal parking, roadside selling and rapid movements of vehicles increase the risk of accidents.
Long traffic delays also lead to fuel waste, missed working hours and higher costs for businesses.
Reacting to the complaints, the Osun State Commissioner for Transportation, Sesan Oyedele, said the installation of dedicated parking places will assist address the situation, while advising auto sellers against exhibiting vehicles for sale on public roads.
“If you provide parking spaces, people will stop parking on the roads,” Oyedele remarked.
I am going to dispatch Directors to go and verify vehicles posted for sale along highways in those impacted areas', the commissioner added.
“Oyedele also said that the plans to build designated bus stops in Osogbo are in the state’s 2025 and 2026 budgets but are challenged by funding issues as a consequence of the non-release of local government allocations.
“We had a plan to build bus stops in Osogbo in the 2025 budget and also in the 2026 budget. But the non-release of local government allocations has affected implementation.
“The state doesn’t have the money,” he replied.
He hoped the financial difficulty would be resolved before 2027, allowing the government to start building bus stations across the capital city.
In contrast, the Osun Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, has identified roadside selling, unlawful parking and indiscriminate passenger loading as primary causes of traffic congestion and double parking.
The Sector Commander, Sunday Adebayo, said the Corps will contact the car dealers association, National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW and other key stakeholders before embarking on enforcement efforts.
He stated roadside trade, illegal parking and indiscriminate loading of passengers were the main causes of traffic gridlock and double parking.
“We are working with the state government to provide a lasting solution to roadside trading in the state,” he said.
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