The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has called for community participation to curb the growing incidence of traffic violations across the state.

The general manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, made the call on Wednesday in Lagos while receiving the Ifako-Ijaiye Leaders of Thoughts Association on a courtesy visit.

Mr Bakare-Oki said indiscriminate parking, one-way driving, road obstructions, and other unlawful practices continued to impede the free flow of vehicular movement across the state.

He reaffirmed LASTMA’s commitment to restoring enduring traffic discipline and fostering a more orderly, secure, and efficiently regulated transportation system across Lagos.

“I appreciate the association for identifying with the agency’s vision of engendering voluntary compliance with traffic regulations through sustained public enlightenment, strategic partnerships, and civic responsibility,” he said.

Mr Bakare-Oki said restoring traffic sanity could not be achieved solely through enforcement but required the collective commitment of residents and other critical stakeholders.

He listed community-based organisations, traditional institutions, religious bodies and transport unions among stakeholders whose support was needed to improve traffic compliance.

He said the Sanwo-Olu administration remained committed to delivering a safer, smarter and more efficient transportation system across Lagos State.

The general manager noted that LASTMA had continued to recalibrate its operational strategies through enhanced personnel training, technological innovation, intelligence-driven traffic management and intensified public sensitisation.

He assured the delegation that the agency would strengthen engagement with community development associations, professional bodies and civil society organisations to deepen public trust and improve compliance with traffic laws.

Mr Bakare-Oki said such engagements would also help foster a sustainable culture of responsible road usage across the state.

Earlier, the president of the Ifako-Ijaiye Leaders of Thoughts Association, Jonathan Tawose, commended the general manager and his team for the transformation witnessed in LASTMA under his leadership.

Mr Tawose described LASTMA as an indispensable institution in promoting public safety, traffic orderliness and sustainable urban mobility in Lagos State.

He affirmed the association’s readiness to collaborate with LASTMA through community advocacy, grassroots sensitisation and strategic stakeholder engagement.

He said the partnership would promote adherence to traffic regulations and discourage acts capable of undermining public order on the roads.

“The association pledges to serve as a veritable bridge between the agency and residents of Ifako-Ijaiye,” Mr Tawose said.

He noted that the association would support initiatives designed to entrench traffic discipline, strengthen community participation and encourage responsible road behaviour among motorists, commercial transport operators and pedestrians. 

(NAN)