Tinubu to Inaugurate Lagos Red Line Rail February 29

Segun James

The much-anticipated Red Line Mass transit train would be inaugurated by President Bola Tinubu on February 29, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu disclosed yesterday.

The Governor who made the disclosure at the Lagos State Parking Authority (LASPA) Stakeholders’ Forum 2024, held in Lagos, said it would help ease the traffic situation in the state.

The Red Line which is one of the state’s integrated mass transit stretched from Agbado in Ogun State and terminates at Oyingbo in Lagos Mainland.

The Lagos State Parking Policy was the law that came in 2021, which established the Lagos State Parking Authority (LASPA) with the responsibility of regulating all forms of parking, adopting innovative, adaptable and sustainable operational system and technologies.

The Governor said, “We are intentional and unrelenting in our efforts to address all traffic issues in the state, and we have identified indiscriminate parking as one of the major challenges to the free flow of traffic.

 “We have adopted a model that ensures a win-win situation between the State and Local Governments. Lagos has already shown that this kind of State—LGA partnership can work, through the establishment of LASAA, and through the Land Use Charge, and we are now set to showcase the same with the Lagos State Parking Authority.

“Therefore, the Local Governments in Lagos State, under the Conference 57 umbrella, and Mr. Kolade Alabi, the National President of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), are our strategic partners in this renewed effort to regulate parking across the State.”

He stated that the government had approved the On-Street parking scheme, to regulate the existing roadside parking and checkmate haphazard parking in line with global best practices.

He further disclosed, “The On-Street parking scheme, as with most of our projects, is being done in partnership with the private sector and we will continue to explore the Public Private Partnership model in order to benefit from its effectiveness in delivering high-quality service to meet the needs of our increasing population.

“The On-Street parking scheme will be operated under a well-designed and systematic module managed by concessionaires and will be regulated by Lagos State Parking Authority. It is expected to be a win-win for both the government and residents of the state.”

While urging all stakeholders in the sector to comply with Lagos State Parking Policy, the Governor stated, “I would also like to reiterate our administration’s zero tolerance policy for the flouting of rules and regulations guiding the Lagos transport sector.”

In her welcome address, the General Manager, LASPA, Mrs. Adebisi Adelabu said, “Existing data shows that over 1.2 million registered vehicles ply the roads of this city, with about 224 vehicles per kilometer of road space for a population of over 24 million people.

“A recent statistic from the federal road safety commission (FRSC) reveals that there are over 13 million vehicles on Nigeria roads. Interestingly, more than 2 million are here in Lagos.  It might also interest you to note that over 18,000 vehicles were registered in Lagos in January alone.

“All of the aforementioned data, goes further to justify the importance of regulating Parking by providing a sustainable and efficient Parking management system.

“So far we have identified over 20,000 setbacks suitable for parking across the state and more than 13,000 are already in use, while works are ongoing to identify more.”