Assessment of traffic signs and its remedial measures: a case study of arada sub-city

Clear and effective traffic signs are essential for the efficient operation of the road network, for the enforcement of traffic regulations and for road safety. In our country due to poor trend, after an accomplishment of road construction, traffic sign management is not given proper assessment and management. This paper aimed at assessing the traffic signs in Arada Sub-city as traffic signs play a great role in minimizing traffic accidents and traffic congestions making the traffic flow smooth. This sub-city was chosen in a purposive sampling technique because the sub-city is at the center of the city whereby it is the busiest business center with a high traffic flow. Four research questions were forwarded to be answered at the end of the study. The first one was to identify what type of traffic signs were installed in the sub-city while the second one was to check the condition of the existing traffic signs, and the third question checked the causes of failure for problematic traffic signs followed by the last question which asked what kind of remedial measure could be taken for the problems observed. The researcher used a descriptive survey study which was appropriate for this study. Observation, questionnaire and interview were used as data collection instruments. To make the assessment convenient, the sub-city was divided into nine sites and the traffic signs on the major roads of each site were observed; their type, height, age, legibility, visibility, condition were assessed. In addition, two sets of questionnaire were prepared for thirty traffic police officers and fifteen AATMA (Addis Ababa Traffic Management Agency) workers while two sets of interviews were prepared for the shift manager of Arada Sub-city Traffic Police Office and infrastructure asset management expert of AATMA. Then the data gathered through these instruments were analyzed. The result reveals that only few redundantly used type of signs dominated the sub-city; other types of traffic signs that are important are not used. There are not sufficient traffic signs in the sub-city. The posted signs do not have any standard and quality. The condition of most of the signs shows that most of them have several problems and need solutions; so some remedial measures were given for the problems. Finally in light of the research findings which show that there are several problems in relation to the traffic signs in Arada Sub-city the recommendations are made in order maintain a safe and secure highway environment.