Accessibility planning is the most effective way of facilitating access to goods, services and facilities at the rural level. Engineers and planners have to stop planning roads or transport infrastructure by basing on agricultural produce to be shipped out and instead plan by addressing accessibility problems experienced in reaching goods, services and facilities at the village level. Efforts should be made to promote proximity or mobility as the two key criteria for addressing the objective of maintenance or construction of roads instead of other non effective criteria.
Mainstreaming of gender needs in accessibility planning improves chances on minimizing the immediate travel and transport problems of most rural inhabitants on a daily basis.
Successes in roadworks should be judged also on the social side and not merely by looking at technical perfections that have little use to people without the means required for use of such capital investments. District Engineers should popularise plans for maintenance or rural paths, small bridges, or the introduction of Intermediary Means of Tranposrtation or IMTs as a measure to address rural poverty and gender issues rather than continue to allocate huge funds towards expensive roads that serve a few car owners and a few community members who can afford the fares.
Constant follow-up and monitoring of improvement in rural accessibility by both men and women should be made by the District Engineer's offices. Gender Focal persons should be involved by the District Engineers in follow-up and backstopping in gender mainstreaming within roadworks.
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