How to manage traffic issues outside school during rush hours?

How to manage traffic issues outside school during rush hours?.

abstract. abstract. The increasing urbanisation and development has resulted in a massive increase in population, especially school-going children and as the population multi-folds so does the traffic and congestion of roads. Our everyday issue is the traffic jam caused during the time when school starts and when it ends in the afternoon. Those are severe rush hours when the crossroad in front of our school and the roads are jam-packed and bustling with vehicles honking their way through trying to get their children to school on time. Due to the traffic not only do the students miss their school but the excessive honking due to the impatience of the people behind the wheel causes noise pollution..

During the covid pandemic the timing of the school for different classes has been changed to maintain the social distancing norms which has helped with reducing the traffic as children are attending school in slots. Even though this method is effective it is a temporary arrangement and does not solve the problem as teachers are being overworked due to many shifts of teaching the students the same topics over and over again. Over a time period as the pandemic will subside the schools will also return to their original timings hence a more effective and permanent solution needs to be put into effect..

Small steps like using public transports, school buses or cycling to school will help but not everyone wants to adopt them when they have the comfort to travel in their own vehicles at their own pace without worrying about missing their bus or having to wake up extra early in the morning. Carpooling is also a method to reduce traffic but a lot of parents due to their conflicting schedules and busy lives cannot make time for such arrangements and send their drivers instead. Since we can’t force people out of their comfort zones why not solve our issue while keeping everybody’s comfort in mind?.

Pick-Up Zones. The idea is simple but it might be effective. Like we have bus stops for our school buses so that pick up and drop off of students is easy we can make pick up spots close to the school at various points. The concept is that each of the pick-up spot is designated for one class. For example, I say that the pick up spot in front of the MG park is for students of class 1X then only the students who come by their own transports will be dropped off at that point. This way by making around 10-11 points of collection the traffic can be dissipated. But the question which comes up now is what about the children of smaller classes like classes I-V? How will they safely walk to school ?.

For the safety of the students the school can station peons or helpers from the school at the points that would collect all the students from their respective stations and walk them to the school. Not only would this help with the issue of traffic but also keep the students healthy as they would take a walk early in the morning and their drowsiness would vanish making them fresh to take their classes. The only drawback is that punctuality is very essential here. There would be only one round taken by the helpers to walk the students to the school ; 15 minutes prior to the ringing of the bell thus students need to be very punctual. But if someone is late they can be dropped directly to the school gate but it needs to be ensured that they do not become lenient and make it a habit. Hence, there should be a register maintained at the entrance where if they are late more than 3 times a month, they would not be allowed to enter the school gates. Even though this method requires a lot of effort if it is put into action we will surely get accustomed to it. Now the only vehicles in front of the school would be school buses, vehicles used by teachers and the parents of the students in pre- primary. Thus students will not be late to school and the traffic during rush hours will slowly subside as people start following the rules..

Thank you!!.